


Paradox

by BlackandBlueMadness26



Series: Superhero Young Love [6]
Category: DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Consequences of Time Travel, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Humor, LIKE A LOT OF ANGST, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, Oh, Okay I'll stop now, Or not, also be prepared to cry cause it's really emo, also there will be some strange ships, based on my previous fic about time travel lol, basically this is a parallel universe, but be prepared for drama, but far less funny than my other fics, but like that's canon deaths, but the chapters aren't posted in chronological order, cause I'm not a monster, idk how your minds work after all, like don't try to understand the chronology, like if you follow my fics you will probably be kind of shocked, like the timeline inside a single chapter is linear, ok bye now, some canon deaths won't happen though cause I do what I want, some people are gonna die, some strange things are gonna happen, yeah sometimes it will be fiunny, you'll understand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2020-07-23 00:45:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 83,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20001190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackandBlueMadness26/pseuds/BlackandBlueMadness26
Summary: Bart and Damian got home, leaving behind them a world where nothing was written in stone anymore. now anything could happen to our heroes.Basically this is just a reimagining of canon cause time travel has consequences.





	1. Presentation

Hi everyone.

So. I know I said I wouldn't start this fic until September and I would continue the other side fic for now, but the thing is, I had to much inspiration for this one and none for the other so here we are. 

So basically, this takes place in the past where Bart and Damian were sent. it will deal with how things have diverged from the main timeline , what changed, what stayed the same, and how they deal with it. 

it will deal with Jaime, Tim and Jason's friendship, with Dick's journey with love, with Bart arriving ina world where everyone knows a version of him that will probably never exist , that kind of things. 

I have a lot of ideas, and I finished writing and editing the first chapter, which will be published in a few minutes so stay tuned lol.

I truly hope you will enjoy this story, I'll admit I'm a bit nervous about some of the ideas I have (especially when it comes to experimenting with ships... ) but I'm also very excited and happy to share this with you!

All The Love,

BlackAndBlueMadness


	2. Death In The Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think the title speaks for itself... but just in case, Jaime and Tim dealing with losing their best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi.   
> So. this chapter is 99% angst, just so you're aware. and honestly I hate myself for writing it but it's also one of my best in my humble opinion so yeah. as you can see even in this alternate timeline, Jason couldn't escape death...   
> I hope you'll enjoy and you won't cry too much.

Jaime was trying to adjust his tie properly. It was the first time ever he had to wear a suit, and he’d trained all day the day before learning how to make a tie node. 

He didn’t know why he was putting so much effort in this, it’s not like Jason would have cared about the way he was dressed anyway, he’d probably even have made fun of him if he’d seen him wearing a suit. But as much as today was about Jason, it wasn’t exactly for him.

He looked at himself in the mirror once he the tie was suitable enough. As expected, he looked like he hadn’t slept in years. And it was true that he hadn’t really been able to find sleep for a week now. He’d been plagued by nightmares every night, and he didn’t know when it was going to stop, or even if it would ever stop. Maybe he’d learn to live with it. Who knew?

He couldn’t focus on that right now however. He needed to keep all his attention on Tim. Tim needed him more than ever. He gave himself a small slap on the cheek to stay awake, then grabbed his suit jacket and got out of the guest room he was staying in at Wayne Manor.

He still called it a guest room, but it was basically his now. He was the only one ever allowed to use it whenever he came to the manor, ever since the first time he’d come here. He’d even left a lot of his own stuff here over the years. It had always felt like a second home here, well until now. Now it felt like the coldest place on Earth. 

He knocked on Tim’s door. Tim spent even more time in the manor than he did. It was the only way he could escape the loneliness of his own home life.

When he didn’t hear any answer to his knock, he knocked again. Still nothing. Slowly, he opened the door and noticed that the room was completely submerged by darkness. The curtains were closed and Jaime wasn’t sure when they’d been opened last. He couldn’t distinguish a lot, but he could see that there was no one actually on the bed. He looked around, squinting his eyes, and noticed a form curled up in a ball on the floor at the foot of the bed. Jaime sighed tiredly, before clearing his throat and saying in a soft voice:

« Timmy ? You need to get dressed; it’s going to be time soon. »

Tim muttered something in such a low voice that Jaime couldn’t understand it.

« Sorry, I couldn’t catch that hermano. »

« I said I’m not going. »

And yeah, Jaime should probably have seen that coming. Tim had always had a hard time not rebelling against the things he couldn’t control in any way he could. And this was something he hadn’t been able to control at all.

« We have to go Tim. We’ll regret it if we don’t. »

« You can go. I won’t. I refuse to do it. « 

« Tim… »

« No! I refuse you hear me?! If I go, that means it’s true! This means there’s really no way it’s just some sick joke! I don’t want it to be true Jaime… I can’t let it be true… »

Tim got silent, and Jaime knew exactly what it meant. Tim had never been loud when it came to showing his emotions, and crying wasn’t an exception. Jaime carefully got in the room and went to sit next to Tim on the floor, throwing an arm around his shoulders and letting his head fall on his shoulder.

« I don’t want it to be true either Timmy. Every time I wake up I pray that it’s just been an illusion, that my mind has imagined everything. It’s not fair what happened, none of it is. And I’m just as confused, lost, hurt and pissed off as you are. But we need this Tim. You need this. You need to face the truth so you can live on. You need to tell him goodbye today. »

« I don’t want to…. He was supposed to be there for years still… we were supposed to keep growing up together, the three of us. He was supposed to have the greatest life and I feel like I don’t have the right to ‘live on’ like you say. Not without him. »

« But you have to. We both have to. Because that’s what he would want for us and you know it. Ever since we met him, all he’s done is to make sure we were always happy and safe. So I know you’re hurting and you feel like nothing matters anymore. But you have to endure it right now. You have to get back up, to come with me and to see him one last time. And then we will heal together. We lost him yes, but you still have me alright ? I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be the big brother from now on. »

Tim tried to answer but a strangled sob came out of his mouth. Jaime held him closer until he calmed down.

« Alright, I’ll go then… »

« Thank you Timmy. Are you gonna be alright to prepare alone? I’ll go find you something to eat, you look like you haven’t eaten in days. »

« Probably true… yeah I should be alright. »

« Good, I’ll be back in a few then. »

He hugged his friend tightly before getting up and going downstairs to the kitchen where he found Dick, his eyes fixated on the cup of coffee in front of him which looked to be cold, showing he’d probably been like this for a while.

« Hi Dickie… » Jaime said carefully.

Dick lifted his head to meet his eyes and gave him a small smile that didn’t meet his eyes.

« Hey there kiddo, you alright? »

« Could be worse, you? »

« Same I guess. How is Tim doing? »

« He’s… a work in progress. I actually came here to see if i could find something to eat for him . I think he’s forgotten to eat one too many time this week. »

« I see. Well you’re in luck. Apparently cooking and baking has been Alfred’s way of coping. The fridge is filled with food. »

« I see. I was surprised to not see him here right now. »

« He’s with Bruce. They had some last minute details to go over. »

« I see. Well I should probably go see if Tim is ready now and give him his food. »

« You’ve been taking good care of him, » Dick mentioned.

« Of course, it’s my job to take care of him, especially now. « 

« I’m not saying you shouldn’t but… don’t forget to take care of yourself too okay? And if you need anything, or just to talk, you can always come to me. »

« I… thank you Dickie but… you’re going through a lot and I can’t do that to you… »

« I’m not saying I know how to handle things exactly, but I’m not dealing with it alone. My friends, my team is helping me get through it. So when I tell you you can come to me, I know I can handle it. Besides, you lost him just as much as I did. I don’t want you to minimize your own pain you hear? »

« I… I’ll try not to. »

Dick clapped him on the shoulder with another small smile.

« Good. Now go check on Tim, I still need to figure out where I left my tie actually. »

Jaime nodded and went back upstairs to check on Tim’s progress.

It took a while, but soon enough they were both ready to go. Their steps were heavy as they walked towards the church. And as they entered the cemetery, Jaime thought his legs would give out before they could reach their destination. But he managed.

He didn’t cry, not even as his eyes met the lifeless face of his friend, so pale and unreal looking. Next to him, it was obvious that Tim was swallowing his own tears, not wanting to show weakness, but Jaime just wasn’t capable of crying. He wondered for a while if there was something wrong with him.

Finally, it was time to approach the casket to pay a final respect. Jaime let Tim go before him. He could see him say something to him, but couldn’t decipher what it was. Finally, it was his time to go .

He took his place next to the casket, and as his eyes fell on Jason, he suddenly didn’t know what to say anymore. He finally remembered what he’d brought in his pocket and got it out. It was a picture of the three of them, taken by Alfred the day of their first meeting. He’d said it was a moment to remember, that they were sure to become lifelong friends. And ironically, it had been true. He placed the picture in Jason’s own pocket, next to his heart. Then he simply said:

« We miss you Jay. »

The months that followed Jason’s death were probably the hardest times in Tim and Jaime’s young lives. They were trying to pick up the pieces of their broken hearts little by little. 

Jaime kept his promise of being the new designated big brother of their friendship. No matter when, where or why, he was there if Tim needed him. It was all that mattered to him at this point, Tim. That meant he didn’t, however, keep his promise to Dick to take care of himself, but if anyone asked him, he would always say he was coping just fine, that there was nothing to worry about. And in a way, he was starting to actually believe it himself.

But then Tim started having less and less time to hang out, he started not calling him as often and keeping secrets. Of course, Jaime could see he felt guilty about it, and that made him worry even more. What had Tim gotten himself into?

He didn’t say anything though. He figured he would tell him when he felt the time was right. And he did. One day, he called him and asked him to meet him in a park in Gotham, and so he did.

“Hey Timmy, is everything alright?”

“yeah, sure, everything’s fine, it’s just… I needed to talk to you about something.”

“Oh? Well, I’m listening.”

“Okay, so first of all, I want you to know I never meant to keep this a secret for so long. I just… I didn’t want you to worry when nothing was really decided yet and I wanted to see if it even worked out before I told you so… please don’t be mad.”

“You’re starting to scare me. Why don’t you just tell me what’s going on?”

“I’m getting there. So, you know how I’ve been really busy for a while now and I never really gave you any explanations? “

“I am aware yes, go on?”

“Well, the thing is, I was actually… at the Manor, most of the time.”

That was a surprise. Jaime hadn’t gone back to Wayne Manor since the funerals. And he thought it had been the same for Tim. Apparently not.

“O-kay… and what exactly were you doing there? “

“I… I was training.”

“Training?”

“Yes, training. As in, you know, with B. in the basement. “

Jaime finally understood what he meant. And his eyes widened.

“Wait…. You mean you’re….”

“Yeah… basically I’m going to be the new Robin. I’ve been training for it for a while now but… Bruce finally said I was ready today and he… he showed me my costume… so I knew I couldn’t hide it from you anymore. You deserved to know.”

Jaime just stared at him dumbfounded for a while, in complete silence. Finally, Tim couldn’t take it anymore.

“Please say something, you’re making me nervous. “

“I’m sorry, it’s just… it’s a lot to take in…”

“I know… I didn’t want it at first. I was trying to make Dick go back to being Robin. I thought… I thought Batman needed his Robin. But Dick said he’d outgrown the role and it could never be the same. But then he said that… he said that I should be the new Robin. He said I was what Bruce needed right now, because I had what it took to take up the mantle, but I also wasn’t anything like him, or like Jay and… I… it felt wrong, to replace Jay like that. I felt like an imposter, and I didn’t want to do that to him but… Dick convinced me I was the best choice to make sure his legacy lived on and… well… I just want to do right by him you know…”

“I understand Timmy. And I think Jay would have said that if anyone had to take the Robin mantle, he would have wanted no one but you to do it. You were always meant to become something great. We both knew it, it was only a matter of time. So I guess all that’s left to say for me right now is, congratulations.”

Tim gave Jaime a grateful smile before hugging him tight.

“Thank you Jaime, I needed that. “

“You’re welcome Timmy. We should probably get home before the night comes now. “

“You’re right. I’ll come to see you before the end of the week though; I mean if that’s okay? “

“It’s always okay and you know it. Now go home, you need to rest, you can’t protect Gotham sleep deprived.”

“Ugh, you’re gonna act like even more of a mother hen from now on aren’t you? “

“You know it polito”

They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Jaime walked in silence to the zeta tube. He’d been given special authorization by Batman to use it even though he wasn’t a superhero.

Once he finally reached home and his bedroom, he just sat on his bed and tried to make sense of what just happened. When it finally hit him, he couldn’t help it anymore. For the first time since Jason had passed away, Jaime cried. He cried and cried for hours without stopping. He cried because he was scared to death. Tim was following Jason’s footsteps. And he wanted to support him, he wanted to be there for him, but he couldn’t forget how dangerous it was. And he couldn’t bare thinking that he might lose him too.

He cried because he felt helpless and powerless. He didn’t know how he would be able to protect Tim from now on.

And finally, he cried because he missed Jason. He missed him more than he thought was possible. He just wanted his friend back; he just wanted things to go back to normal. It wasn’t fair and he was so tired of pretending to be fine and to have accepted the unacceptable.

He cried so hard and so much that he ended up passing out from exhaustion.

When he woke up the next day, the first thing he did was to shoot Dick a text saying: ‘I think I’m ready to talk now.’

It only took an hour for Dick to be at his doorstep at to tell him they were going out to eat. Once they were sat and Dick told him he was listening, Jaime started spilling everything he had on his chest. He just couldn’t stop talking. And to his credit, Dick listened attentively, without any judgement. When it seemed like Jaime had finally ran out of things to say, Dick started giving him advice as best as he could, and did his best to comfort and reassure him. And Jaime could see why so many people looked up to the first Robin; Why Jason had looked up to him so much, even though he’d never admitted it.

Jaime ended up texting Dick far more often after that, and having him in his corner helped him reduce his anxiety at the thought of Tim becoming Robin.

As promised, Tim came to visit him. And he took this opportunity to proudly show off his all new costume.

“So? What do you think? How do I look?”

He was actually posing, with his fists stuck at each side of his waist, and Jaime couldn’t help but smile fondly.

“You look absolutely epic, Robin. Jason would be proud.”

And that was all Tim needed really. He started beaming, and Jaime thought that maybe things could get better, even though they would never go back to how they were before. Maybe they weren’t doomed to pain and suffering for the rest of their lives. Maybe they could remember everything they’d shared with Jason and smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...So yeah that was that. I'm not crying you are.
> 
> Next Chapter: Tim reacting to Bart's arrival, and how it affects Jaime (yes there is a lot of Tim and Jaime in those first chapters but it's just for now don't worry)


	3. Back again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The arrival of Bart Allen in their lives and Jaime Reyes' reaction, as witnessed by Timothy Drake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heeeey! dear lord this took me so long to write! I'vee been on this chapter for two days straight!   
> anyway so some infos so you're not confused:  
> While this follows a lot of plot points from YJ season 2, there are some things that don't happen here. for exemple, Wally does not, in fact, die. the reason is, he is no longer the slowest in this timeline. he did quit the team to go to college with Arty, but he did not in fact stop being a hero and training his speed. the biggest difference comes from the fact that he's been inspired to never give up on becoming even better by his meeting with the older version of Bart, and he's driven by that.  
> So yeah, he doesn't get struck by the thingy, I forgot the name, and he doesn't "ceaze" thank you very much. this will have repercussions that we'll see in the upcoming chapters, but for now, I needed to explain that to you guys so you wouldn't be confused.  
> Alright that's all! please enjoy!

It had been about a month since Jaime had finally gotten into the superhero business (albeit admittedly not exactly willingly in the beginning) and Tim was so happy to be sharing this life with his best friend, especially now that he’d joined the team. Going on mission together, having each other’s back in and out of the field, honestly he couldn’t be happier about this development.

It had just started to feel like the new normal, like the status quo had been restored. Which is probably why Tim should have known things would get turned upside down again by the universe. There was never nothing “normal” about their lives. Somehow, something always ended up falling on their heads unexpectedly.

And nothing could have prepared him for the tornado that was Bart Allen, or Impulse as he’d been wanting to be called. He should have seen it coming, after all, he’d met the older version of Bart years ago, he knew the day would come when they’d meet again, this time with Bart being the younger one. That was an odd sight. He was so small, hyper and innocent, and yet in some ways he was a lot like his older self had been, or would be, time travel was complicated.

He was also a real punk who’d managed to escape them pretty easily. He was alone with Dick and Garfield or Beast Boy in Mount Justice, and as Garfield flew to try to catch up to Bart, Dick asked his brother:

“Doesn’t stand a chance does he?”

Dick handed him the glass of water he was holding, the one he’d previously offered to Bart to drink, and said calmly:

“Nope, Impulse is too fast. But at least we can track him”

“You planted a tracer? It will fall off at his speed!”

“It won’t, he drank it!”

Tim looked at the glass and finally got it.

“Subcutaneous-micro-tracers in the water; nice!”

“Thanks! He’s making a B-line for Central City.”

After saying that he took out his phone and called someone that Tim suspected to be Wally. When the call was over, he turned to Tim again and said:

“do you want to tell him or should I?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Jaime. Should I tell him about Bart being back, kinda, or do you want to do it?”

And suddenly it hit him. It might have been strange for him to see a young version of the man who’d saved his life and introduced him to the superhero world, but it would be even worse for Jaime who’d harbored a very obvious puppy crush for him at the time. And Tim knew for a fact he still thought about him every day. That was going to be very weird to now meet a thirteen year old version of his first crush. Tim sighed.

“I’ll tell him. He’ll probably have a mental breakdown over it and I guess it’s my job to make sure it doesn’t cause him to completely dysfunction. “

“I see. Good luck with that. Wally’s ecstatic. He’s been waiting for the chance to meet baby Bart for so long. I think he wants to act all big brother like and have Bart be as impressed by him as he was by his older version. Walls is a real piece of work sometimes,” Dick added with a fond smile.

“I won’t disagree with you on that. By the way, did you believe that story about Bart being there as a tourist? “

“Not at all. He’s hiding something. Probably a whole lot. But he must have his reasons. Let’s see where this goes and if he ends up telling us more about the real reason behind his return. Especially since we know he never ends up back in his time. “

“Yeah, did you never wonder about that? Why he stayed in the past all this time?”

“I did, and I asked him. But he wouldn’t tell me. He’d let a lot of things spill accidentally, but never about that. He seemed to be very careful around the subject. “

“I see… well let’s hope it’s nothing too terrible. I should go now, better tell Jaime now before things start getting crazy. “

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow morning for your training. Don’t forget, 7 AM sharp alright kiddo?”

“yeah I know I know. See you tomorrow.”

And just like that, he was gone. He stopped by the Manor to change into civilian clothes, and then headed to El Paso.

He knocked on Jaime’s door and was let in by his mother, who had always been very nice to him, especially after the death of his father. She’d given him the parental love he’d never known he craved. After chatting with her for a bit, she told her Jaime was upstairs helping his little sister Milagro with her homework. He got upstairs too, said hello to his best friend and his sister, and proceeded to start assisting Jaime in his tutoring. Milagro even stated he was a better teacher than her brother, which made Jaime grumble and pout while Tim just laughed and hugged the little girl. 

When the homework was complete, Tim suggested he and Jaime went out to grab something to eat, and so they went. They decided to buy take outs and go sit on the roof of an abandoned building. There, Jaime finally asked.

“So. Is there a reason you came to my house unannounced and kidnapped me, or did you just miss me too much? “

“First of all, I wouldn’t call asking you to go out to eat kidnapping. And I don’t see how I could miss you when we saw each other two days ago.”

“So you do have a reason. What’s up pollito? Is something wrong?”

“I wouldn’t say wrong, but I do have something important to tell you.”

“Well I’m all ears.”

“So you know how I was on duty with the team today with Dick and Garf?”

“Yeah you told me. Did something happen?”

“Yeah, kinda. We had an intruder.”

“Say what? You mean, in the HQ?!”

“Yup. We were talking and suddenly a strange machine just appeared out of thin air in the middle of the control room.”

“A… machine?”

“Yeah. We later learned that it was a time machine. And… someone got out of it.”

“wha…. A time machine… this is crazy… and, who got out of there? A version of us from the future? Someone we know?”

“Second one. Jaime, it was Bart. Bart is here.”

Silence fell. Tim kept his eyes on Jaime, slightly worried as he saw that he seemed to have completely shut down. His face was blank and he was as still as a statue. After a whole minute of nothing, Tim finally tried to wake him:

“Jaime? You okay there buddy?”

“…Bart is here.”

“yeah, that’s what I just told you.”

“Bart. Bart Allen. The same Bart that…”

“Yeah, well actually no not exactly. It’s a younger version of him. Around thirteen years old. A version that has no clue we’ve already met him.”

“That’s… Dios mio, thirteen? He’s practically an infant!”

“We were even younger than he is when we met the other him may I remind you. Besides, we’re only two years apart. “

“Yeah but still, that’s so… weird… wait, where is he right now? Can I meet him? Can we go right now?”

“Wow, calm down! First of all, last time I checked, he was heading to Central City, probably to visit his grandparents. He wasn’t exactly forthcoming about his motives, Dick had to put a tracer in his drink, long story. Second, we can’t just go to him and expect things to go smoothly. We might know him, or a version of him, but he doesn’t know us. And we have no way of knowing how much he’s changed in the future compared to now. But then again, he did ask about ‘Blue Beetle’ so …”

“He… he asked about me? Me specifically not the rest of the team?”

“I mean, it was in passing and he was rambling a lot but he did specifically ask if you were here too so take that as you want. “

“I… he knows me… I really need to see him Timmy, please. You know how important that is to me right? “

“I know Jaime… tell you what, I have a training session with our fearless leader tomorrow morning, I can try asking for more details about Bart. Then I’ll call you and we’ll see where we go from here. Does that sound good to you?”

“That sounds perfect. Thank you Timmy you have no idea how much I need this.”

“Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea actually. Now remember we cannot mess up and make him know that we know him. He can’t know we’ve met him before. He needs to think we see him as a perfect strange. “

“Yeah, I can manage. No big deal.”

To say that Tim was skeptical was an understatement. He was pretty sure Jaime was going to turn into a nervous mess and be a real disaster altogether, but he kept that for himself.

As it turned out, a lot had happened after Tim had left Mount Justice. Bart had indeed gone to his grandparents, where Wally had joined in to explain his situation after Dick had called him to warn him. Then, a strange sort of villain called Neutron attacked Central City and Bart went with his grandfather and first cousin once removed to stop him. When the mission was complete, they had come back to Mount Justice and Bart had apparently tried to go back to his time with the time machine, but had then claimed that it was fried and he was stuck here. Somehow, Tim doubted that any of this was true, and he knew that Dick thought the same, but it was better to make Bart think they believed his lies for now.

After learning of all of this, Tim called Jaime as promised; telling him Bart was staying in Mount Justice and to meet him there.

Jaime was there so fast Tim was starting to believe he was a speedster too. Tim wanted to tease him, but he looked so happy, and it had been a while since he’d seen his eyes shine as much. Actually, he hadn’t looked so alive since Jason had passed away. So he didn’t say anything, just mentioned for him to follow him.

They got to the kitchen where Bart was unsurprisingly raiding the fridge. Tim rolled his eyes before calling out to him.

“Hey, Impulse, leave some of that for the rest of us will you?”

Bart turned around sheepishly and said with an apologetic smile:

“Sorry, speedster metabolism you know?”

“yeah I get it don’t worry, I was just teasing. By the way, I wanted you to meet my friend Jaime Reyes, or Blue Beetle. Jaime, meet Bart Allen. “

Jaime just awkwardly smiled and waved next to him, and honestly it was painful to watch, so Tim decided to focus on Bart. For a millisecond, he thought he saw something flash in his eyes that looked an awful lot like fear, but he could be wrong. He probably was wrong, because he then smiled even more brightly and rushed to Jaime to shake his hand vigorously while he rambled:

“Hi there Blue, can I call you Blue? I’m gonna call you Blue! It’s so crash to meet you! We’re gonna be besties for sure just wait for it! I should probably stop shaking your hand now!”

He did just that, but didn’t let go of the hand yet. Jaime seemed a bit at loss faced with this adorable little ball of energy, and he had that look, the ‘So help me god, I’ll protect this kid from the world even if it kills me ‘ look that he usually reserved for Tim. Oh well, Tim didn’t mind sharing.

Jaime finally snapped out of his daze to say.

“Blue huh? I kinda like it. I’ll be happy to become your ‘bestie’ , but can I have my hand back now? I kinda need it you know.”

“Oh! Right! Here! sorry, sometimes when I get excited I become a bit weird.”

“No worries, we’ve all been there.”

Tim watched as they continued to smile at each other, and honestly, he knew he would end up feeling like a third wheel sooner or later, but he didn’t think it would happen that soon.

The months that followed were crazy. A lot was happening with the team, what with Aqualad’s treason, Artemis’ death and the world threatening danger lurking behind the surface. Yet through all of this, Jaime, Tim and Bart found the time to form a close bond. It seemed like things might be okay, until Jaime and Bart were kidnapped by Aqualad and his goons. To say that Tim didn’t take it well was an understatement. The last time someone he loved had been taken, he’d come back as a corpse, so it was fair to say that he was panicking more than a bit. Even Dick’s presence didn’t help to calm his nerves. He hated being so powerless. He’d gotten into the superhero business for that very reason, to never feel powerless anymore, yet here he was.

An finally, thankfully, Bart and Jaime came back. Tim hugged them as tightly as he could as soon as he saw them, but he noticed that something was off with Jaime. Before he could ask him what was wrong, his friend told him he was tired and was going home to rest. Tim frowned and turned to Bart as Jaime was heading towards the exit.

“What’s up with him? Do you know?”

Bart looked uncomfortable.

“I… I do… but I can’t tell you.”

“What? Why not?”

“It’s just not my place. But… I really think he needs you right now. You should go after him. I’m pretty sure he’s not going home anyway. “

Tim looked at him still confused, and Bart sighed and nudged him.

“Just… go okay? He’s in a great deal of pain and confusion right now, and he needs a friend. He needs his best friend. Go to him please.”

“Alright, I will. You’re gonna be okay alone?”

“Yeah sure, I’ll just go grab something to eat and watch a movie or something, don’t worry about me, Jaime’s more important right now. Now shoo!”

Tim did as told and started running tot ry and catch up to Jaime, which was surprisingly easy because he was just walking slowly in the street, his head down.

“Hey Jaime! Wait up!”

Jaime turned around and rolled his eyes as he saw Tim jogging towards him.

“Why are you here Timmy? “

“I thought you might need some company.”

“I don’t. I’m perfectly fine on my own.”

“You’re obviously not. You look awful and I’m pretty sure you feel that way too. “

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me!”

“Well it shouldn’t! don’t waste your time on me anymore, I don’t deserve it!”

Tim saw red at his words. Without warning, he just grabbed Jaime by the arm and started dragging him with him.

“Hey! What are you doing?! Let go of me!”

“no, you’re coming home with me and you’re going to talk to me! “

“I don’t WANT to talk! “

“I don’t care, we’re doing this! Now stop fighting or I knock you out! Don’t think I won’t!”

Jaime huffed but did as told and followed Tim to the Zeta tube. They got to Gotham and said a quick hello to Alfred before heading upstairs. They sat on Tim’s bed and Jaime just stared at his laps stubbornly while Tim just looked at him expectantly.

“So? You gonna tell me what’s gotten into you ?”

“I’d rather not.”

“Jaime… I’m worried okay? Bart said you had something serious going on.”

“Bart told you?!”

“No, he just said you needed me right now, but he didn’t want to tell me why exactly.”

“Oh… well… he shouldn’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I just need to get used to it that’s all.”

“Get used to what?”

“I… I can’t tell you. I just can’t…”

“Why not?”

“Cause I don’t want to lose you… “

Tim grabbed Jaime’s forearm and forced him to look at him.

“You’re never losing me. We’re a team you and I. there’s no you without me, that ain’t happening.”

“You don’t know that…”

“I do. You’re more than my best friend, you’re my brother. you know I would never abandon you.”

“Not even if I turned my back on everyone? If I turned dark?”

“I… What?”

“Tim, Bart didn’t come back in time as a tourist. He came back to save the world. To save it from…me.”

Tim looked at him alarmed and dumbfounded.

“You… you’re kidding right?”

“I’m not. That damned scarab in my back? It’s alien technology. A race called the Reach. They plan on invading the Earth and I’m supposed to help them do that. In Bart’s future, Blue Beetle is the symbol of the Reach’s tyranny. He terrorizes humans, tortures and kills. _I_ do that. “

“Jaime… this isn’t going to happen.”

“How can you be sure? I can’t get rid of the scarab, I tried. Only dying would do that. I have no way of knowing when I’ll lose control of the situation. I’m a ticking time bomb and I shouldn’t even be on the team, or around you! I’m a monster…”

“You take that back! You are not a monster you hear me?! And you’re not alone! We’ll deal with this together like we’ve always done! Besides, time can be rewritten. That’s exactly why Bart is here isn’t it? To save you.”

“He’s here to save the world, not me…”

“Yes, but he wants you safe too. If it wasn’t the case he’d have told the League about you. But he didn’t. Because you matter to him, you’re his friend.”

“I don’t see why… why would he want to be friends with me when I probably caused him pain in his early life? When I’m probably part of his every nightmare?”

“Because that’s not you. And that might never be you now. And he can see that, he can see that you’re nothing like the monster he’s met before. He can see how kind, caring and amazing you are. He can see how good your heart is. He wants to help you, and I do to. So please let us. Don’t push us away.”

Jaime suddenly snorted, despite the tears that were starting to form in his eyes, and said:

“Why do I feel like you’re about to start singing Frozen?”

“Cause you know me too well. _Please don’t shut me out again, please don’t slam the door! You don’t have to keep your distance anymoooore! Cause for the first ti…_ ”

“okay I get it stop it! God you’re insufferable!”

“That’s why you love me.”

“I do. I love you Timmy, you know that right?”

“Of course I do.”

“Good. Never forget it please.”

“I promise. Does this means you’re gonna let me help?”

“not like I really have a choice, with how stubborn you are.”

“Hm, true. Oh and Jaime? I love you too. Never forget it either.”

“I won’t.”

Things were even messier after that. Everything came crashing down, Jaime fell victim to the Reach and Blue Beetle switched sides, but they managed to bring him back. And then the world was ending, and the nit wasn’t anymore. And Artemis was alive, and Aqualad was not a traitor but a double agent, and honestly that was far too many things for Tim’s far above average brain to comprehend at once.

After that crazy year, things got a bit steadier for a while. And Tim naively thought that he could rest for a while. But of course he couldn’t. He started noticing that most of the time when he was hanging out with Bart, Jaime wasn’t there anymore. When he’d ask Bart about it, he seemed as clueless to why as him, but Tim could see it was weighing on him. So Tim cornered his best friend after a mission and asked him directly.

“Why are you avoiding Bart?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“that won’t work with me sweetie pie. Even he started to notice and it’s making him sad. You wanna be responsible for Bart’s sadness?”

“You know I don’t…”

“Then why are you avoiding him you doofus?”

Jaime looked at him with a sad smile.

“You don’t even realize it do you? Figures. You’ve always been oblivious to that kind of things.”

“What do you mean?”

“Bart has a crush on you.”

“Wh…no he doesn’t!”

“He does. It’s obvious to literally everyone but you. He follows you everywhere like a lost puppy, laughs at all your jokes even the ones that aren’t funny at all, he talks about you constantly, and don’t get me started on the way he looks at you. “

“I…”

“And I know that you know about me. About how I feel. And that if I told you you would probably start to keep your distance just for my sake; but I don’t want that. That would break his heart and I promised to myself to never do that. But at the same time… it’s really hard to watch him look at you like you’re God’s given gift or something. So I’m not really avoiding him, or you. I’m avoiding you guys together. I know I shouldn’t but… it’s just until I learn to cope with it.”

“Jaime… you know nothing’s ever gonna happen between Bart and I right? Even if you’re right and he does have a crush on me, I don’t see him that way. I love him to death but not romantically. And even if I did, I would never do that to you. Besides, I don’t think that crush is gonna last. Not with how devastated he is when you’re not there.”

“Don’t say that. Don’t give me false hope.”

“I’m not trying to. I’m just telling you what I’ve observed. Listen , I’ll cover for you for a while okay? I’ll find you excuses. But you need to talk to him. Because you’re not meant to be apart. “

“I will… thank you Timmy, for always looking out for me. I’m grateful for you, even though you’re killing my game.”

“too soon dude too soon. But I’m grateful for you too, and hey, who knows, maybe one day I’ll have a crush on someone who’ll be into you.”

“Yeah, somehow I don’t see that happening. “

“Don’t sell yourself short, you’re a very attractive guy!”

“Are YOU crushing on me now?”

“Oh yeah totally. Look at me I’m swooning!”

To illustrate his words, Tim pretended to faint, a hand on his forehead like a fair maiden, which made Jaime giggle despite himself.

“I despise you.”

“Oh no! Rejection! Whatever shall I do?” he added while making a show of falling into Jaime’s arms.

Jaime just rolled his eyes and caught him.

“How can you go from the most mature person I’ve ever met to an actual child in a matter of seconds?”

“it’s a gift!” Tim answered happily, glad to have made his friend laugh once again.

When about a month later, Bart come to him panicked in the middle of the night to tell him he was ‘totally super duper in love with Blue, oh my God Tim what am I going to do this is a disaster!’ , Tim really wanted to shoot Jaime a text that said “I told you so”, but focused instead on calming down and advising the poor little speedster.

They’d figure it out eventually, he was sure of it. It was bound to happen, they just needed a nudge in the right direction. And Tim was glad to be that nudge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Richard John Grayson deserves to be loved and cared for and he'll get just that even if the one he wants is currently unavailable.


	4. Breaking Your Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, things can just be easy and fun. and sometimes they end up meaning more than you'd previously thought, as Conner learns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi.  
> So. I'm nervous lol.  
> This is, by far, one of my favorite chapters I've written for all of this series. I just had so much... fun writing it, and I felt like it was really something special.  
> But, it might also be kind of controversial cause I'm toying with some of the staples of my fics. And like, don't know if you guys know but I have severe anxiety so like I know it's just a fic but I still feel scared at the thought you might just hate it lol.  
> But I figured, I just spent like five hours writing this, might as well just publish it.  
> So. Here you go, and I really, truly hope you enjoy. x

Sometimes, Conner could swear that Dick Grayson could actually fly.

Now, he technically knew that Dick had no superpowers, but when he saw him in the air, jumping and flipping around with grace, it was really hard not to think that there was something almost magical about him.

Right now wasn’t an exception, as he watched him swing around without a care in the world. He had to admit to himself that seeing him like this, seemingly in his element and happiness clear on his face made Conner feel very fond.

“Nightwing, can you stop showing off for one second?” he heard Artemis say behind him in an annoyed tone.

“Oh leave him be Arty,” Wally retorted lightly, “you know how he is, practically living in the air.”

“Yeah, well, time to get back down to Earth.”

Dick just shrugged, before jumping down and landing in front of Conner, addressing him a smile before turning to Artemis.

“Don’t hate me cause you ain’t me sweetheart.” He said with a smirk and a wink, “Besides, if you think that’s showing off, you’re not ready for when Jason’s gonna join the team. The kid is ten times worse than I am.”

“Dear Lord, two of them, I can’t handle that.”

“Okay come on now guys, let’s refocus,” Conner said, suddenly remembering he was in charge of this mission, “ Nightwing, can you get up there and check how many guards there are?”

“You got it Sups,” Dick acquiesced with a salute.

He jumped up, not forgetting to put a few flips here and there just to spite Artemis who just rolled her eyes, and started looking around.

“Ten guards at most, I’m not sure about the other security measures in place, but I’m pretty sure we can take them,” Conner heard him say in his ear piece.

“Alright, anything else?”

“Yeah, I’d say we should attack on the west wing, it seems to be the weakest spot and…”

He couldn’t continue his sentence because suddenly, he saw an arrow come towards him. It narrowly missed him as he managed to move at the right moment, and landed at his feet. He was about to say their cover was blown, when he noticed that it wasn’t just any arrows: it was an explosive one. That blew up right under him and sent him flying away.

At that precise moment, Conner was painfully reminded of Dick’s humanity and therefore relative vulnerability. And he dreaded that. But he didn’t have time to be horrified at the fragility of human condition. Dick was falling, and he had to catch him.

He ran and jumped, meeting Dick mid-fall and catching him in his arms bridal style, holding onto him tightly as he landed on one knee.

Dick coughed a bit, and Conner quickly checked him for wounds. It seemed to all be very superficial, but still, he asked:

“Are you okay ‘Wing? Are you hurt?”

“Besides in my pride and dignity, I think I’m fine,” Dick said sarcastically, “Thanks for the save by the way, that was nice.”

“Anytime. And when I say anytime, that doesn’t mean you should get blown up more often.”

“Aw but then how am I supposed to get the damsel in distress treatment if I’m not in dire need of rescuing?”

Conner rolled his eyes at this blatant flirting. It was something that started becoming familiar between them, the teasing and flirting, ever since they’d come out to each other. Conner wasn’t exactly opposed to it.

“I thought you were the one doing the rescuing?”

“I mean, I can try catching you when you fall, but I don’t think it would do either of us much good.”

“You might be right about that.”

“Hey guys,” Wally interrupted, “Not to interrupt you or anything, but we’re kind of under attack right now, so if you could like, continue chatting later? By the way you alright Rob’?”

“I’m ok KF, and you need to stop calling me Rob’, that’s bound to get awfully confusing.”

Wally shrugged and got back into fighting.

“We should probably go help them,” Conner pointed out.

“We should,” Dick agreed.

They didn’t move for a few seconds after that, until Dick said:

“Hey, Kon? You planning on letting go anytime soon? You can’t exactly fight with me in your arms.”

“Oh, right. Here you go. Be careful, don’t get killed!”

“I’ll try not to!” Dick shouted as he was already getting into the fighting.

Conner shook his head and followed.

Despite this rocky start, the rest of the mission was a success. When they got back to the Headquarters, Wally insisted on having a party to celebrate, because ‘it’s been so long since we’ve had one of those!‘ and the rest of the team, who had gone on a separate mission, agreed.

However, Conner refused to let Dick go anywhere before his wounds were treated, and knowing how stubborn he could be, he decided to take care of them himself.

“Stop fidgeting, will you? You’re making this difficult,” he berated Dick as he was trying to bandage his torso, but the ex-Robin wouldn’t stop moving.

“I can’t help it, I hate staying still!”

“The more you move, the longer it’s going to take. So be patient and let me work okay?”

Conner really felt like he was talking to a child, especially when Dick huffed and started pouting, which, admittedly, was kind of adorable.

He did stop moving after that and decided to watch Conner work. He had a focused look in his eyes, as if he was actually doing a surgery and not just treating a few cuts and bruises. He was taking his job very seriously, and Dick thought it was cute.

“You know, you’d make a good nurse.”

“You think? Maybe I should reevaluate my career choices then.”

“hm maybe you should.”

“You seem happier the past few days.” Conner remarked suddenly. “Less stressed, and also less pining after Wally.”

“Do I? Well, I guess that’s true. For the stress, it’s probably because things with Jason have finally started to go just right. The kid had me worried for a while with how reckless he was, but I think he’s finally started to learn caution, so that’s good. As for Wally, well, I just realized pining would get me nowhere anyway. I mean I’m sure my feelings aren’t going anywhere any time soon, but in the meantime, I’m young, and not to brag or anything but I’m pretty great too. So I figured I might as well have fun.”

“Good spirit. I like seeing you like this “

“You mean less of an emo teenager?”

“Pretty much yeah. Here you go, now you’re practically brand new.” Conner declared after finishing the bandage while handing Dick a shirt.

“Thank you Nurse Connie.” Dick answered with a teasing smile while Conner glared at him.

“Call me that again and I’ll show you that I’m as good at causing wounds as I am to tend to them.”

“Your empty threats don’t work on me, I know you love me.”

“Debatable.” Conner scoffed, crossing his arms.

Dick, suddenly feeling playful, just smiled again, looking Conner in the eyes as he put his arms around his neck and let his forehead rest on the other boy’s own.

“Just admit it Kon, you can’t get enough of me.”

If Conner was nervous _(A/N: he’s totally shitting his pants right now)_ , he didn’t show it as he said calmly, without even blinking:

“What are you doing right now exactly?”

“I told you didn’t I? I might as well have fun. And you’re fun. “

“That’s not an adjective I’ve heard used to describe me often.”

“Well what a waste. Tell me to stop if you’re uncomfortable.”

“Do I look uncomfortable to you?” Conner clapped back while lifting an eyebrow defiantly, and that definitely ended any doubt Dick had in his mind.

Slowly but surely, he closed the gap left between them and his lips met Conner’s. it started sweet and slow as Conner carefully put an arm around Dick’s waist, but soon Dick wanted more and started adding pressure on Conner’s lips, urging him to take things further, which he did. Soon, they were full on making out and completely lost in each other for a few minutes. When they finally separated, Dick was smiling even more brightly than before, and Conner couldn’t help but stare at him.

“Was it as fun as you’d imagined then?” Conner asked nonchalantly.

“Even more than that. You know what Conner? I like you.”

“Obviously, I mean we just made out.”

“Stop ruining the moment! I’m trying to make it special!”

“And failing. But it’s okay, I like you too Dickie. “

Dick’s smile was softer this time, more vulnerable.

“That’s nice. I like that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

It was Conner’s time to smile as he pecked Dick’s lips once more.

“You’re cute. We should probably go, we’ve missed the first hour of the party, and someone’s bound to wonder what’s taking us so long.

As if on cue, Wally suddenly appeared.

“Yo Superhot, Dickiebird! We’re all waiting for you what are you doi… why do I feel like I’m interrupting something?”

Dick and Conner looked at each other with a knowing smile before Dick got up and answered:

“You’re not interrupting anything, don’t worry. We were just about done. Let’s go be the life of this party, how can they even have fun without the three of us there? You coming Nurse Connie?”

Dick rolled his eyes again but decided not to bother dignifying that with a response this time.

“Yeah in a minute, I just need to put the first aid kit away first.”

“Alright, but hurry up okay? I’ll save you a dance!”

“I am not, under any circumstance, putting a foot on the dance floor. “

“pfft, as if I’d leave you a choice! See you in a minute!”

Dick started heading towards the door, passing in front of a dumfounded Wally, and as he crossed the door, he turned around one last time to wink at Conner before leaving. Wally just stayed still, watching Conner curiously and suspiciously as Conner was just smiling to himself. Finally he asked:

“Is something wrong Wally?”

“Oh um… no I just… don’t you think there’s something… odd about Dick today?”

“I wouldn’t say odd no, what makes you think that?”

“…never mind, I’m probably just tired. I better go back; I’ll see you in a few.”

And then he was gone. Conner shook his head amused at the situation, before putting the first aid kit where it belonged and finally joining the party where, no matter how many times he protested, he didn’t manage to escape dancing with Dick. He decided it wasn’t that bad, if it made Dick happy.

In the weeks that followed, things shifted ever so slightly between them. It wasn’t that noticeable if you didn’t know them well or weren’t paying attention, but the team still noticed something strange happening. For once, the touching was fairly apparent. They would “accidently” brush against each other a little too often, lean against each other when reading the same report, and just generally be more affectionate than usual.

When they managed to be alone, they would steal kisses here and there, sometimes even make out for a bit.

They weren’t exactly trying to hide it or anything; it’s just that to them, there was nothing to talk about. They were just two attractive young men who were close friends and who also happened to be attracted to each other. Things were just easy between them and they didn’t want to put words on it that would complicate everything.

Ironically, the first one who had the courage to confront Conner about this was Megan when she came back from her gap year that she spent away from the team to learn more about her powers and how to use them. She and Conner had stayed in contact during this time, going steadily back from being boyfriend and girlfriend to a normal a strong friendship. So she’d missed a fair bit of the development between Dick and Conner, but it wasn’t hard to put two and two together for her. One day, as they were alone in Mount Justice, she just flat out asked him:

“What’s the deal between you and Dick exactly?”

“What do you mean?” Conner asked, his eyes not leaving the TV where he was watching a documentary about sea life (okay, maybe it was Finding Nemo).

“You know what I mean. There’s something happening between you two. Are you dating?”

“No? “ Conner responded a bit unsure.

“Sounds convincing.”

“I don’t know okay? We’re just… having fun. Yeah. Dickie’s fun. We have fun. “

“Huh. You like him don’t you.”

“Well yeah, that’s obvious.”

“You’re aware he’s in love with Wally right?”

“Is anyone unaware of that fact? Well, except for Wally of course.”

“Just making sure you know what you’re doing. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt. We might not be together anymore but I still care about you and I want you to be happy. “

“I know Megan, but you don’t have to worry. I know what I’m doing.”

“I hope you’re right, I really do.”

“Trust me. And Trust Dick. You know he’d never hurt me right? He cares about his friends.”

“He cares about you, you mean?”

“Well, I’m his friend so yeah.”

“Huh.”

Megan just looked at him with a knowing smile.

“Maybe I was wrong; maybe this will do you both good. You both deserve to have someone who cares about you in your lives.”

“… You deserve someone like that too you know?”

“Yeah, I know. But right now, I’m quite content with the single life.”

Conner nodded and refocused on his film.

The following few days, Megan’s words resonated a lot in his head. ‘You both deserve to have someone who cares about you in your lives’. He wondered what she’d meant exactly. It didn’t help that he hadn’t been able to have much time with Dick as usual since it was finally Jason’s first week with the team and Dick, being the great brother he was, was making sure he didn’t feel left out or out of place.

Speaking of Jason, the kid certainly didn’t hold his tongue when he had something he wanted to say. Conner learned that the hard way one afternoon as he was casually playing with Wolf when Jason just came in and stared at him for a whole two minutes before saying:

“My brother talks about you a lot.”

“I beg your pardon?” Conner inquired, confused.

“Grayson, he talks about you a lot. He used to talk about West all the time, still does from time to time, but now he talks about you too. A lot. “

“He does?”

“Yes. So I only have one question for you. What are your intentions towards my brother?”

“I... what? “

“Let me make it simple for you, since you seem to have a hard time understanding normal sentences. Grayson, he’s family. And I know he’s older or whatever, but he also has a tender heart and that makes him vulnerable when it comes to certain things. I know he’s been hurt in the past. But not anymore. I’m here now, and I won’t let anyone hurt him just because he’s too nice and romantic or whatever. So I repeat, what are your intentions towards my brother? And think of your answer carefully, because I know where Batsy hides his kryptonite and if you think I’m above stealing from Batsy, just remember he met me when I was trying to steal the tires from the Batmobile.”

“You did what to the Batmobile I’m sorry?” Conner couldn’t help but exclaim, awestruck.

“Not the point, answer the question.”

“Right… well, I don’t have any bad intention I can assure you.”

“That’s not good enough. I want to know what he means to you.”

“What he means to me? Dick is one of my best friends. He helped save me from Cadmus, and he’s been there for me while I was trying to adjust to human life. He’s always made sure that I was okay, and he always has my back, in and out of the field. All I want is to do all of that for him. To be there for him in the good moments like the bad. I want to make him laugh and wash away his pain. I just… I just want to care for him. “

“Huh. So you like him.”

“Of course I do, why does everyone keep asking me that? That’s obvious, he’s my friend.”

“No, I mean you like like him.”

“I know you’re still a kid, but still, “like like him”?”

“Don’t try changing the subject!”

“Fine! So maybe I’m not indifferent to his charms, are you happy now?”

“Hm. I guess I am for now. I wasn’t sure about you in the beginning, but I think you’re alright. You seem to be careful around other people’s feeling despite your hard exterior. So I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt. But don’t forget…”

“Kryptonite, got it, no worries. “

“Good. And for what it’s worth, I think he’s not indifferent to your charms either.”

And without another world, Jason was gone.

“Weird kid,” Conner decided as he mentally reminded himself to ask Dick about the Batmobile incident.

After both of those conversations, Conner felt a bit bolder in his showing of affection, and would sometimes kiss Dick on the cheek or hug him in front of the team. It was just instinctive at this point really, he just felt like it so he did. He thought maybe Dick would ask him to stop, but he never did. On the contrary, he seemed pretty content with it, just leaning into the affection.

So things were going great for a while. Then Conner started noticing that Wally would often be watching them with a strange look whenever they did anything remotely affectionate. He brushed it off, thinking it was just his imagination, until one day, as he was on his way out for the day and he happened to stumble upon Dick and Wally who seemed to be arguing. Not wanting to intervene but also not wanting to leave in case they ended up needing to get stopped, he just stooped on his tracks and waited, feeling a bit guilty for eavesdropping.

“…need to stop before it goes too far!”

“You don’t even know what you’re talking about, and it’s none of your business anyway!”

“It’s my business when you’re acting like a fool! You’ll only end up getting hurt, why can’t you understand that?”

“Kon would never hurt me! I trust him!”

“Oh yeah? Wanna ask Megan how that worked out for her?”

Okay, that kinda stung, Conner had to admit, hearing Wally talk about him like that.

“You take that back! Kon had his reasons for breaking up with her, and Megan understood eventually! They’re even back to being friends, even closer than they were before, so who are you to judge how they relationship went? Just because you’re trading spit with Arty 24/7 doesn’t suddenly make you a relationship expert you know?”

“I’m just trying to protect you!”

“I don’t NEED your protection!”

“You obviously do! What do you think is going to happen? That Conner’s gonna proclaim his undying love for you and you’re gonna become the new It couple? Don’t be dumb! You know as well as I do that he doesn’t see you like that! Sure, maybe he likes flirting with you, but this isn’t going anywhere! So stop dreaming for five minutes and put an end to all of this before it’s too late and you get your heart broken!”

Dick didn’t answer this time, and Conner could see he was on the verge of breaking. And that look on his face, that look of pure pain and defeat, that’s what did the trick. That’s when Conner decided enough was enough and stepped in, saying in a loud, imperious voice:

“And how do you know how I feel huh? Please explain that to me.”

Both boys turned to him, surprise, and Wally had the decency to look ashamed, before recovering and saying:

“Please, you’re gonna stand there and honestly tell me you have feelings for Dick?”

“I’m gonna stand there and tell you that Dick is probably the most incredible person I’ve ever met. That he’s one of the kindest, smartest people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. That he’s beautiful inside and out and that I would never dream of doing or saying anything to hurt him. I can’t say the same for you though. For someone who proclaims he’s trying to protect Dick and prevent him from hurting, you seem to be doing just the opposite a bit too often.”

“Shut up! Don’t turn this on me!”

“That’s not what I’m doing. Just look at him you idiot! Look at him and tell me who’s the one who hurt him!”

And so Wally looked. And he saw. He saw how pale and trembling Dick was, barely keeping it together.

“I… Dickie...”

As he tried to reach out for his best friend, Dick took a step back, shaking his head. Conner could see that the situation was even worse than he thought.

“Get out,” he ordered Wally, “I need to take care of him.”

“But…”

“I said GET OUT! You’ve done enough damage for today!”

Seeing how Conner was greeting his teeth and making himself look as menacing as possible, Wally knew there was nothing he could do but leave.

“I’m sorry…” he muttered before getting out.

As soon as he was gone, Conner was at Dick’s side, taking him in his arms and forcing him to look at him.

“Hey, Dickie, look at me baby, it’s okay, just breathe with me okay? Everything’s gonna be fine, just breath. In and out, can you do that for me?”

Dick followed his instructions, and soon, his breathing evened out, and the trembling stopped. He still held onto Conner as if he was a lifeline, while Conner petted his hair softly, whispering sweet nothings in his ears.

“ ’M sorry…” were the first words out of Dick’s mouth.

“Whatever for?”

“For causing this… making you fight with Walls, and making you takes care of me… sorry for being such a crybaby over nothing…”

“You will stop this nonsense this instant Richard. You didn’t cause anything. Wally was being an ass, I put him back in his place, simple as that. And you’re not a crybaby. You just happen to be insecure when it comes to love, it’s nothing to be ashamed about, and we’ve all been there. As for taking care of you, you didn’t make me do that. I choose to do that, because I want to make you happy. Don’t think you could force me into doing anything I don’t want to.”

“I… did you mean it? What you said, to Wally earlier.”

“About you being the greatest human being to ever grace planet Earth? Yeah I totally meant that.”

“Oh… thanks… I… I think you’re amazing too…”

“You’re adorable. Listen Dick, I know you love Wally, and I won’t ask you to just forget about him all of a sudden, because I know you can’t. But I… I really, genuinely like you. And I want to make you happy. I don’t know if I’ll ever be enough, but I can promise you I’ll try my hardest. So will you give me a chance and date me?”

“You… you’re serious?” 

“I… yes. I know, it’s crazy, you probably don’t even feel that way about me…”

“No! I mean, no I do! Like you I mean. I told you already remember?”

“You… you mean… but… and… Wally?”

“Let’s forget about Wally for a sec okay? Like you said, I can’t just wipe out my feelings for him out of the blue. But this doesn’t mean that what I feel for you isn’t real. I was really confused for a while, but being with you, it makes me feel… good. Like it’s right. You make me happy Kon. So I would love to date you, but only if you can promise me something. “

“What is it?”

“I need to make you happy to. So if there’s ever a time when I’m not doing that, you need to tell me. You can’t always put my feelings before yours, is that clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Good. Now, seal it with a kiss?” Dick asked a bit timidly now, which was a first in their relationship. Conner chuckled but obliged.

Sometimes, Conner could swear Dick Grayson could actually fly. He was so ethereal that it was hard not to believe he was an angel instead of a mere human. But sometimes, even Dick Grayson could have his wings broken. But that was okay, Conner thought, as long as he was there to break his fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so....Yeah lol  
> just a few thoughts.  
> First of all, don't worry, this doesn't mean it's the end of Birdflash lol. it might delay it a bit, or not actually cause like it's taking place in the past so idk.  
> As for Superbird, well I'll admit this is gonna be trickier but I'll find a way, I always do.  
> Basically I have this idea that the moment Dick and Conner start dating is the period when Dick would have started dating Babs in the main timeline.  
> Now I need to gush cause like, how amazing is Conner honestly? I want a Conner in my life like, yesterday. He's the best baby boy in the whole wide world and I love him with all my heart.  
> Also Dickie being a flirt is the reason I'm alive and I need more of that. plus, say it with me folks , "DICK GRAYSON DESERVES LOVE AND HAPPINESS!"  
> I realized I made another reference to Dick loving to dance while editing the chapter. I mean, it's a really important part of his character developpment in this universe. plus I had forgotten, but in "Bart and Damian's Excellent Adventure", I had gotten three different ideas as to how Dick would come out to Wally. one was the one I ended up doing, my the other two were basically one where Wally casually mentions to Bart that Dick has told him he wanted to talk about something and he was going there right now and Bart just forcing Wally to wear a shirt with, you guessed it " Dick Grayson deserves to be loved" written on it, cause Bart is an adorable crackhead, and the second was having aparty thrown to say a proper goodbye to the time travelers and Wally noticing that Dick looks sad so deciding hey, Dick loves dancing! so he would ask him to dance and Dick would be like what the heck and Wally would just say hey no big deal just two bros sharing a dance nothing gay about that and Dick would be like na fam I'm bi. yeah, crack ideas all around. but I didn't end up doing those as you can see, and I ended up making present, main timeline Birdflash dance instead.  
> But yeah basically now Conner is Dick's dance partner for a while so that's cute.  
> I need to stop rambling. BUT OH I ALMOST FORGOT! How cute is Jason seriously? I mean I hate to compare the Robins you know, and especially Jay and Dami, but I truly think that baby Jay is even more scary and menacing than Baby Dami wause like, Jason is just as savage, but he actually understand human emotions and can use them against you which Damian couldn't so... yeah I love my baby birds.  
> OKAY ILL STOP NOW! I'm sorry for always rambling but I really had a lot of thoughts to share lol.  
> Next chapter: Bart is Confusion


	5. Bart Allen 2.0.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bart learns about Jason, and about Fake Canadian Speedster Guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there strangers!   
> So, after tearing through your poor Birdflash hearts, I decided to ask for forgiveness by offering adorable fetus Bluepulse ft Third Wheel Timmy as a compensation.   
> I hope you'll enjoy.

When Bart came to the past, he thought things were going to be much harder than they’d been to make the team trust him. He thought he would have to work hard to be considered an ally, a friend.

So, when just a day after his arrival, Tim had approach him to introduce him to Jaime, Blue Beetle, one of the reason he was here in the first place, he could barely believe it.

It had been hard to conceal the fear he’d felt learning that this was the guy who was responsible for so much of his suffering in the future, but he’d manage to make a good impression it seemed, because Jaime accepted his friendship almost instantly.

Soon, he was inseparable with the pair of best friends. And they seemed genuinely happy to have him by their side, which, okay, that was a new experience for him, and it made him feel guilty to be hiding so much from them, especially from Jaime.

But then, the whole kidnapping deal happened, and all of a sudden he’d had to tell him everything. He even pushed Tim to ask him what was going on so he would know too. He thought that after that, they would try to keep their distance from him, after all, he’d been lying to them for months, but they just laughed when he told them that, and Tim ruffled his hair and said:

“You really think we believed you were a tourist from the future?”

“Yeah Bartie, give us more credit than that!” Jaime added with his trademark kind smile that always made Bart wonder how it was possible that such an angel would ever turn dark.

“So you aren’t mad?”

“Of course not! We know you had your reasons. Time travel is tricky.” Tim reassured him.

“Exactly. But now that we know, we want you to know that if you ever need to talk about your past, if you need to get anything out of your chest, we’ll be there to listen.” Jaime added.

Bart swallowed difficultly, moved by how caring his two friends were.

“I… I truly thought that… once you knew…. You wouldn’t want to be friends with me anymore… I thought I would be alone again, and I mean, I’m used to it but… I also started getting used to having friends.”

“You better be used to it, cause we ain’t going anywhere Cariño, once we’ve taken a liking to you, you’re stuck with us forever.”

“We’ll never desert you Bartie. You’re part of our little pack now, that’s a lifetime membership deal. “

It was really hard not to cry at that, but he managed to hold back the tears and decided to hug his friends instead, hoping it would convey how grateful he was to have them.

There was still a lot of things he didn’t understand, and a lot of times when he felt there was a lot he didn’t know about the pair. Sometimes, they would start telling him stories about their past adventures, when they were kids, but he always felt like there was some parts missing. Like for their meeting for exemple, they’d tell him they’d been united by “their own personal gardian angels”, and he felt like their was a story there, but when he’d ask, they would just smile at him mysteriously which was kind of frustrating.

But that was the nice part. Sometimes, they would also stop in the middle of a story about a particular prank they pulled or how they got in trouble, and all of a suddden they would look very sad, haunted even, and Bart couldn’t determined why exactly, and unlike with the first situation, he didn’t feel comfortable with asking. It was clear it was a sore subject for them.

Then one day, he got an answer. He’d arrived at Mount Justice, pretty excited and happy about the day, and looked around to find Tim and Jaime, but couldn’t find them anywhere, which was odd since they’d told him they would be there. He got to the control room where Dick was seemingly working on something, and asked him:

“Yo, Nightwing! Do you know where Robs and Blue have gone?”

Dick turned to him, and for the first time in a long time, he didn’t greet him with his usual fond smile. Instead, he looked tired, and pained.

“Considering what day it is, I’m pretty sure they’re downstairs, in the Memorial Room.”

“The… Memorial Room? Why are they… what day are you talking about?”

“…right, you wouldn’t know. They don’t like to talk about it. Tell you what, why don’t you go join them?”

“Are you sure? I mean, it seems like they’re dealing with something private, I wouldn’t want to intrude…”

“I think they will be happy to see you. Plus they need to be cheered up, and as you can see I would do a pretty shitty job today.”

“Right, you do look really sad… are you gonna be alright?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me; Kon, Walls and Megan are taking me out tonight to take my mind off of things. My friends will take care of me, go take care of yours.”

“I… okay, I will! I’ll make sure they’re alright!”

“I know, I have faith in you. Oh, almost forgot, tell them not to forget they have to come to the Manor for breakfast tomorrow. B won’t take no for an answer.”

Bart nodded, a bit confused, before heading towards his friends.

He entered the Memorial Room and looked around to see where they were. He found them sitting on the floor in front of the hologram of… Robin? Now, if Bart remembered his notes correctly, this was the second Robin, Jason Todd, Tim’s predecessor.

They were looking at the hologram, murmuring things that Bart couldn’t hear from where he was behind their breaths. Jaime had an arm thrown around Tim’s shoulders, holding him close. Bart couldn’t be sure, but it looked like Tim had been crying.

Bart didn’t dare move, or say a word, feeling like an intruder. But of course, the other two noticed his presence anyway, and Jaime said in a soft and tired voice:

“It’s okay Bartie, you can come closer.”

Bart hesitated still, but Jaime added:

“Come on, we have someone we want you to meet. “

Carefully, Bart started approaching, and finally sat down on the other side of Tim, looking at him worriedly, wordlessly asking him if he was okay. Tim gave him a sad smile and said:

“Don’t look at me like that Bartie; I’ll be fine I promise.”

“I’m sorry for interrupting, it’s just… Dick said you might need me so I…”

“It’s okay, it’s good that you’re here. Like Jaime said, there’s someone we want you to meet. We should have told you about him a long time ago anyway. So, Bart, meet Jason.” Tim finished, pointing at the hologram.

Bart looked at him in more detail. He seemed to have been tall for his age, taller than Tim at least, and even jus in hologram, you could see how prideful and confident he’d been.

“So… you two knew him well?”

“Remember what we told you about how we met?”

“Yeah, something about a crazy dude being after you and you getting your own protection squad for a while?”

“Yeah, that, well, at one point, our protectors were in a bind, and they needed to take care of a dangerous situation. But they couldn’t leave us without any protection. So they decided to send us to the safest place they knew. They decided to send us to Batman. That’s how we met Dick, and Bruce, and, well… that’s how we met Jason.”

Bart nodded, mentioning to Tim to go on, which he did.

“Now Jason, he was… not gonna lie, he was a real punk. The kind of kid that your parents never want you interacting with, you know. So exactly the kind of kid you want to be friends with, especially when you’re younger than them and you see them as the coolest person on Earth. And that’s exactly what he was to us, from the first time we saw him. So here we were, two 11/12 year old kids in the middle of unbelievable events, facing danger, meeting superheroes, being invited to stay at Batman’s place, and now meeting a 13 year old kid with an attitude. But the weirdest part was that, Jason, who liked to pretend he was tough as nails and didn’t need anybody, just decided after five minutes of knowing us that we were worth his time. He took us under his wings and acted as our big brother. And he was the best big brother we could ever have asked for. He listened to us, took care of us, made sure we always knew to come to him if we had any problem at all. He always made time for us, even when he became Robin and didn’t have that much time to spare. And we… we admired him so much… he was everything to us… but then he… he…”

Seeing that Tim wouldn’t be able to continue, Jaime squeezed his shoulder and kissed his forehead, before continuing the story himself.

“When Jason was fifteen, he was kidnapped by the Joker. Batman couldn’t find him for a whole 20 hours, and we were at the manor, powerless, waiting for news, any news at all. And then, finally, Bruce finally managed to find Jason. He was in a warehouse, completely beaten and nearly unconscious. And Bruce was so close to entering and saving him, to bringing him home but… all of a sudden, the warehouse blew up… with Jay inside… and… when Bruce finally got to him, it was too late… he managed to get him out but… he was already dead.”

“Oh no… I’m so sorry…”

“Not your fault… but you see, that day, we lost our best friend, our brother. We lost our hero. It was hard to recover from that. But we had each other, and our memories, and we hung onto that to survive.”

“Jaime really stepped up to the plate,” Tim suddenly interjected, “He won’t tell you cause he’s humble, but he’s the strongest person I’ve ever met. I was a total mess. I didn’t want to believe it. I even refused to go to the funerals, but Jaime forced me. He knew I would regret it if I didn’t. He took care of me the way Jason would usually take care of both of us. He made sure I wouldn’t lose myself in grief. I never did thank you for all of this did I?”

“You didn’t need to. I did what I had to. It’s what Jason would have wanted.”

“Still, I don’t think you realize how important you’ve been. You’ve saved me.”

Jaime didn’t answer and squeezed him again instead. Bart looked at them with a lot of admiration and affection.

“Both of you are brave, the bravest. I wish I could have met Jason, he must have been amazing. Plus, I would have liked to thank him for taking care of you. I think he would be proud to see what you’ve became. I know I’m proud to call you my friends.”

Both guys looked at him and gave him small but sincere smiles, and then Tim put his arm around Bart’s shoulders.

“He would have loved you, you know? He had a soft spot for cute people.”

“Yeah, you would have been his favorite no doubt.”

“I’m everyone’s favorite, that’s how charming I am!” Bart joked, managing to make his friends smile.

After that, the trio became even closer. Bart even started sharing his past with them. He told them about his family dying when he was very young, about Wally taking him in as his own until he sacrificed himself for him, about having to fend from himself from this point on, and not having enough to eat most days, about learning to fight. And they were supportive through every single tale, never forgetting to remind him that he wasn’t alone anymore and that they loved him. 

They encouraged him to finally start accepting Wally’s many requests to hang out. At first, it was too painful for him to even think about spending time with him, but Wally was persistent and seemed hell bent on getting to know him for some reason. And so with a little push from Tim and Jaime, he started meeting up with the older speedster at least once a week. And it made him happier than he could ever describe. It felt like he really had a family. Wally took care of him as good as the other him had all those years ago, and Bart felt like he had a second chance at childhood.

Wally was the first person he told when he started crushing on Tim. And then when he realized how silly that crush was. And then when he realized that he’d been head over heels in love with Jaime all this time (well, not exactly, first he went and screamed about his newfound love to Tim and panicked for a while, cause honestly, it was the middle of the night and he knew Tim never slept anyway. )

Wally was good with advice, and especially love advice, which was ironic considering how messed up his own love life was (seriously, even Bart could see he was pining after Dick, why was he still with Artemis? Not that he’d told him that of course.)

But sometimes, he felt like Wally knew things about him even before he did. And he had this unwavering faith in his capacities, always telling him how much he admired him and that he knew for a fact he would become even greater in the future. Come to think of it, lots of member of the team were like this with him. Dick would find any opportunity he had to introduce him to various movies and tv shows, always saying he was a hundred percent sure he would love it (and he was never wrong), Megan would often ask him about how he was doing and if there was anything he’d like to talk about, to not hesitate to come to her. She’d even told him about her past on Mars, and Bart suspected she knew about his own past, but she’d assured him that she hadn’t dug into his mind and she would never do that because that was wrong and she respected his privacy too much. Artemis would make him his favorite cake every time he was over at hers and Wally’s (and , while he might think they weren’t meant to be together, he still adored that girl) and he still didn’t know how she’d guessed on the first try. Conner would call him Baby Bart, and when he’d tell him he wasn’t a baby, he’d answer with a secretive smile ‘you totally are, look at you all small and cute, I wanna squish you.’ And who said Conner was a tough grumpy guy again? And when Kaldur came back from not being a traitor, he would often want to have conversations with Bart, asking him about his input on one thing or another, which was the strangest to him, why would Kaldur want the input of a fourteen year old brat from the future?

He suspected there was something more going on behind all this. And one day, he finally decided to ask Wally about it.

“Walls?”

“Yeah darling?”

“Do you know why everyone always acts weird around me?”

“Weird in what way?”

“Well, they’re always talking to me in a way that makes me feel like… they’re not really talking to me, exactly. Does that make sense? Like, sometimes I feel like they see me as someone I’m not or something. Plus, they know things about me that I haven’t told them, and they treat me like I’ve always been there or something.”

“Ah. I guess it’s time I told you a little story.”

“Ooooh I love stories! What’s this one about?”

“It’s about two lost time travelers that accidentally crashed in 2012 and turned the world upside down, while taking the time to save it in the process”

“They saved the world… in 2012? Is this a joke?”

“No, but I do admit it’s pretty funny. The Mayas must not have been very please. Anyway back to my story. “

“Oh yeah sorry, please do go on.”

“Why thank you. So as I said the year was 2012, and as he often did at the time, Dick decided to intercept Batman’s distress calls to see if there was anything interesting. And that day, someone made a call on a much secured line, one that only members of the Batfam had access to. So obviously, that made Dick even more curious, and since we were all stupid rebellious teenagers, we decided to go investigate on our own. That’s when we met Benjamin and Daniel Porter. Or well, that’s when we got our asses handed to us by them. We might have underestimated them when we saw that there were only two of them, and that they were around our age, but as it turns out, Daniel was as well trained as any of the mini Bats, and Ben was a speedster. An older, faster and in my opinion a lot more handsome speedster than I was.”

“Aw don’t say that I’m sure he was nothing compared to you!”

“I knew you were my favorite for a reason. Anyway so we fought, then Batman showed up, we took them in custody, then we interrogated them, and Ben decided to subtly imply that he knew Batman’s secret identity.”

“Ha! Sounds like me! Except for the subtlety part.”

“Yeah, you’ll get there someday. So of course Batman had us all leave the room, even Dick who was not happy about that but it didn’t matter cause he’d bugged Ben before leaving so he could listen to the convo, anyway long story short, Batman came back half an hour later to tell us we had two new recruits in our team all the way from Canada, just like that. They didn’t even sound Canadian, don’t know how we fell for that. That didn’t go over too well, and Danny and Kon almost threw hands. Good times. “

“You’re weird. What happened after?”

“Well they slowly but surely integrated to the team. I mean Dick took to them instantly, he’d stick to Danny like glue and honestly I don’t know how the poor kid managed not to kill him, he was very annoying. But together they sometimes looked like actual twins; they understood each other in a way only they could. And Dick also had a huge soft spot for Ben, which was hard to cope with for me at the time cause Dick and I weren’t exactly talking, my fault, and I felt like he was trying to replace me with the improved version of me.”

“Aw Walls that’s so sad! You were jealous of Canadian speedster guy! I’m sure he wasn’t that great anyway! Nobody’s better than my dad!”

“Did you just call me dad?”

“Nope!”

“Pretty sure you did though…”

“You must have dreamt it! Go on with your story already!”

“Alright I’ll pretend it didn’t happen this time, but just so you know that doesn’t bother me, you can call me that if you want. Anyway so yeah I spent the first few weeks really despising Ben, but then he made sure Dick and I made up and gave a lot of very good life advice that I still use to this day, perhaps not often enough I’ll admit that, and honestly I started just really looking up to him and wanting to be like him. And then he got kidnapped.”

“What? How did that happen?”

“Again, my fault. I wasn’t fast enough and didn’t see an attack coming, he took the blow for me and that made him slower and weaker and they managed to take him. It was a really tough time, especially when we had to tell his “brother” that his sibling was in danger. But then Danny revealed something no one saw coming. Well, except for Dick who already knew since day one cause he’s a brat. And for Conner who…well to this day I still don’t know how he guess, that guy is scary sometimes. “

“What was the reveal? “

“Basically, Daniel and Benjamin Porter didn’t really exist. Those were made up names.”

“Gasp! The drama! I bet they weren’t even Canadian those liars!”

“Yeah, no, that was disappointing. But then Not-Danny told us who they really were. His name was Damian, at the time he didn’t tell us but now we know his full name was Damian Wayne, son of Batman. And his speedster “brother” was not his brother at all, despite how close they were. “

“Ooooh let me guess let me guess! That was an older version of you! All this time you were jealous of... YOURSELF! God that’s a great story!”

“Huh, well I admit it would have made a great plot twist, but no. it was not in fact, an older version of me. “

“Then who was it?”

“His name, the name that’s been engraved in the whole team’s mind for years now, was Bart Allen.”

“…huh? Why did fake Canadian speedster guy have the same name as me?”

“Because that was you, Bartie. Twenty-two year old you. “

“…what?”

“Five years ago now, we met you for the first time. An older you. That’s why everyone’s trusted you almost instantly, and why they’re overly affectionate towards you. Because they’ve known you for years. And not to mention, they’ve missed you. We’ve missed you and Damian so much, you have no idea. You were part of what made our team better. You helped us grow not only as a unit, but also individually. And you also saved our lives from a crazy wizard hell bent on world domination. “

“I…I did what…”

“Saved the world. For the second time. With a magic sword. “

“A MAGIC SWORD?! IM GONNA GET A MAGIC SWORD?! WHEN?! HOW?! “

“Well I’m pretty sure it’s not gonna happen now to be honest, but in one universe you did get a sword. I don’t know the details but that was pretty bad ass.”

“I’m so crash! I’m gonna be the coolest dude ever! Wait that means you were jealous of …me?”

“Yup.”

“I… that’s insane! Why would you be jealous of me when everything I know I’ve learned from you? “

“Well, I didn’t exactly know that at the time now did I?

“Yeah but still! That’s so crazy! Wait, that crazy villain, that wouldn’t happen to be the same from Tim and Jaime’s story now would it?”

“Oh it’s exactly the same. He wanted Tim dead especially, as well as Kon, Roy and…Jason… because they played a huge part in disrupting his plans in the future. And he targeted Jaime when he noticed that you were one of the people trying to stop him, because he knew you would do anything to protect him.”

“Oh…so… so they knew me… they knew me when they were just children…. When they were talking about their Guardian angels, they were talking about Damian and… me?”

“That’s basically it, yes. You see, you’re the reason they met, the reason they became friends, the reason they were able to meet Jason. You’ve directly saved both their lives from attacks. And they admired you. Not to mention you were Jaime’s first crush that was adorable.”

“W… WHAT DO YOU MEAN FIRST CRUSH?!”

“I mean that the poor kid was completely smitten by older you. It was the cutest thing ever. Every time other you would call him “Cariño” he would become as red as Uncle B’s costume and completely melt, according to Dick. “

“Cariño… Jaime calls me that sometimes. I wonder what it means…”

Wally had a hard time not rolling his eyes at that.

“Maybe you should ask him someday.”

“I will… I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around all of this… so basically, everything good I have in my life right now, that seemed so easy to obtain without me ever knowing why… I have them because old me was a pretty great dude and made everyone love me before I even met them?”

“Uh… yes?”

“Woah… Maybe I should thank him when I see him.”

“You mean, in the mirror in a few years?”

“Basically yeah. I mean, not gonna lie, I never even thought I’d survive ‘til my fifteenth birthday, so knowing I have a whole life ahead of me, and people who love me… that’s more than I could ever have hoped for. “

“And that’s exactly what you deserve. You make everyone’s life a little brighter, and this time I’m not talking about other you, but you right now. And you have so much more to give; I can’t wait to see you realize your full potential. “

Bart smiled brightly at that and hugged Wally

“I’m happy I can do that here, with you by my side. I need to go talk with Tim and Jaime now, but I have one last question.”

“What is it?”

“That Damian kid and I, were we close?”

Wally smiled.

“You once said you’d not only die for that kid, but you would even kill, and you nearly did once.”

“…that much?”

“Yeah. He was your baby bro, and you never missed an opportunity to show him you loved and cared for him. And even though he was a bit of a grump, he loved you just as much. Honestly best bromance I’ve ever witnessed.”

“Better than Tim and Jaime? I doubt it.”

“Heh, you might be right about that. “

After another hug and a promise to come back the following weekend because ‘we need to talk about what we’re gonna do for you fifteenth birthday! And no, I won’t chill out about this, this is your first birthday party since you didn’t tell us until too late last time, I want it to be perfect, I’m gonna invite the whole justice league just you wait, no I’m not going over the top this is perfectly normal parent behavior!’, Bart took his leave.

He decided to run to El Paso, where he knew both his friends would be at this hour, and found them in the usual coffee shop where Tim would always force Jaime to take him when he was in town to get his fix. From the outside, he could see them bickering like the old married couple they secretly were, and that made him smile. He entered the shop and they noticed him, their face lighting up as they waved at him excitedly and waited for him to approach, which he did, letting them envelop him in a hug. He took a sit on Jaime’s side of the booth, trying not to blush too much remembering what Wally had told him about his ‘crush’ on older him.

“So, what brings you here on this fine day my dear Bartie? I thought you were hanging out with Wallace today?”

“Why do you keep calling him Wallace?”

“Cause he hates it, obviously.”

“You’re a menace.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“Because you are Timmy. Anyway Bart what brings you here?”

“Oh, right! Well it has come to my attention that you two have been keeping a huge secret from me,” he said while trying to look angry but failing miserably if the way Tim cooed at him and Jaime pinched his cheek was any indication.

“Aw have we now? And what did we hide for you exactly, Cariño? “

And there it was again, that famous word. Bart turned to Jaime and responded with a confident smirk:

“I don’t know, ‘Cariño’, why don’t you tell me about Ben Porter? Somebody told me he was your first crush.”

The look of pure shock on Jaime’s face before he turned ‘as red as Uncle B’s costume’ as Wally would say was truly comical. And Tim seemed to think so as well seeing as he snorted loudly before saying:

“Ah, so Wally told you. I was wondering if he would or not. We were gonna tell you eventually too you know?”

“Why didn’t you before?”

“Well, we didn’t want you to feel like you had to compete with another version of you. We wanted you to feel accepted for you and not a version of you that you don’t even know, you feel. “

“Oh… that’s… that’s actually very thoughtful of you now that I think about it. It’s true, in the beginning I might have felt pressured by that idea. You did the right thing.”

“So you aren’t mad at us?” Jaime asked timidly.

Bart shrugged with a smile.

“Wasn’t mad in the first place, just wanted to mess with you a bit.”

“Speaking of mess, let’s get back to the crush discussion!”

“No, let’s not! Listen Bart, I don’t know what Wally told you, but whatever it is, it’s…”

“Totally and undeniably true,” Tim interrupted, “You should’ve seen him, he would hang into older you’s every word and always find an excuse to hug him or grab his arm. Older you thought it was the cutest thing ever. Jay and I would tease him about it for months after he left. Poor baby was devastated. “

“Yes, thank you Tim, that’s quite enough I think!” Jaime started saying, alarmed.

“Oh and the mental breakdown when I told him that thirteen year old you had arrived! He wanted to meet you instantly it was ridiculous, he…”

“Tim!”

Bart giggled, clearly amused by the whole situation, before taking Jaime’s hand and saying:

“Hey, it’s okay, I think it’s adorable. I do have a question though.”

“… Yeah?”

“What does ‘Cariño’ mean exactly? You’re always calling me that, and apparently, older me called you like that too, so I think maybe I should know what it means. “

“Oh…well um… you see…. Actually… it means hum… it means ‘Darling’… I call you that because… well... Because you’re very dear to me…”

It was Bart’s turn to turn red while smiling even brighter, looking at his laps while still holding Jaime’s hand. Tim cleared his throat and declared:

“I think you two have some things to talk about, so I’mma leave you to it for a few minutes. Shoot me a text when you’re done making out or whatever.”

They turned in unison to look at him horrified and he just laughed and tapped them both lightly on the cheek before telling them to ‘figure it out’ and leaving.

They stayed in silence for a minute or so, neither of them daring to look the other in the eye, but their hands still intertwined. Finally, Jaime mustered the courage to talk.

“So… as you probably guessed by now, I kinda like you a lot…”

“You… you mean that? I mean, for me and not for… the other me?”

“Yeah, well no actually. Him I had a crush on. My first crush as you pointed out. But it was nothing more than a puppy crush, you know like when you’re young and figuring out what love is. But it’s not like that with you. I… I’m actually… okay I know it sounds crazy but... you know at first, when we met and I saw how young you were, and before you protest, I know a two years difference isn’t that big of a deal but you gotta admit you were pretty much a baby, anyway when I saw you I instantly knew I’d give anything to protect you. But I thought that what I felt wasn’t different from the way I feel about Tim you know? That I saw you as a little brother. But then, that whole thing with the Reach happened and we became even closer and I just realized I had been lying to myself… you were… special to me. I understood then that I was in love with you. This couldn’t have come at a worse time cause that’s also when I realized you had a crush on Timmy.”

“…ah… you knew about that…”

“Yeah, it was pretty obvious. The whole team knew, well except for Tim who’s an oblivious idiot, he didn’t know until I pointed it out for him. Sorry about that by the way…”

“Nah it’s okay, I don’t care that he knows. That’s just part of my embarrassing past now, I moved on.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. Turns out my crush on him was pretty superficial. I just latched onto the idea cause…”

“Cause?”

“Cause well… at the time… I didn’t want to be falling for you…”

“…oh… because of the mission?”

“Yeah, because of that. being friends with you was already hard thinking you might go to the enemy, but having feelings for you? That would have been a disaster. So I did everything to suppress my feelings and tried to look at you a lot less, focusing my attention on Tim instead. And well, when you spend as much time as I did focused on Tim Drake, it’s pretty much impossible not to develop a crush on him I think.”

“Yeah, I get what you mean… not that it happened to me cause like, ew, that would be bordering on incest. I practically raised the brat.”

Bart laughed at that, before continuing:

“But anyway, that didn’t even matter in the end cause it didn’t even work.”

“What do you mean?”

“Trying not to fall for you? Yeah, turns out that was impossible. I failed miserably.”

“You… you mean…”

“That I’m in love with you too. I’ve known for a while now. I’m surprised Tim hasn’t told you, he was the first to know.”

“He probably figured I wouldn’t believe him anyway…. Woah… I can’t believe it’s real… Bart Allen, in love with me…”

“You better believe it baby!”

“Did you just call me baby?”

“And what of it?”

“If anyone is a baby it’s you I think.”

“Hey! Why can’t we both be babies?”

“Hm, true. Babies in love.”

“Babies in love. I like that.”

“Me too. But you know what I’d like even more?”

“What?”

“To call you my boyfriend.”

‘Oh Lord, that was smooth,’ Bart thought as he smiled again.

“Only if I can call you mine.”

“I’m all yours, Cariño,” Jaime confirmed before deposing a soft kiss on Bart’s lips (that did not, in fact, turn into a make out session, get your mind out of the gutter Tim Drake!)

They took a few more minutes to relish in each other’s presence before calling Tim back, saying everything was ‘figured out’. And while Tim deplored the fact that he would now have to be even more of a third wheel, they could see how happy he was for them.

All in all, Bart could say that going back in time was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> seriously, how adorable is Bart? And Jaime oh my God what a precious little bean. and don't get met started on the absolute legend that is Tim Drake, honestly best third wheel/ wing man in existence.  
> Next Chapter: Resurrection


	6. Under The Red Hood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason's back, and he's stuggling, but he's not alone and never will be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heeeey!  
> so. Jason's alive yay!  
> I have to admit that keeping him dead for so long was a real pain. like, I need my Jaybird to be healthy and happy and causing mayhem!  
> Hope you'll enjoy.

It had been a shock wave that had quickly gained the whole Superhero world, an announcement so big and unexpected that it took a while for them to recover.

Jason Todd was alive.

When the Red Hood had started terrorizing the criminals in Gotham City, at first, no one had made the rapprochement. Someone had decided to steal the Joker’s old alias, but it might have been a coincidence, or just a Joker fanatic trying to follow in his footsteps.

But that new guy was nothing like the Joker; he didn’t go on useless rampages, and wasn’t trying to create chaos. On the contrary, he was trying to reform crime. To control it by become their boss. And he was good. Very good. So good even, that he escaped Batman twice.

It didn’t take long for Bruce to recognize his old partner’s fighting pattern, but he didn’t want to believe it until he was a hundred percent sure.

When he had the confirmation that this was indeed his long lost adopted son, he went to confront him. That’s when he told him about Ra’s Al Ghul and the League of Assassins being involved. That he’d been brought back to life by the Lazarus pit, which was known to have a side effect: bloodlust. And Jason was indeed thirsty for blood. Specifically the Joker’s. When Bruce still refused to kill him even to avenge him, Jason went nuts, and Batman had to stop him, but he managed to escape.

Now nobody even knew where he was, even though Batman, Nightwing and Robin were searching for him everywhere.

That was how the situation had been summarize to Jaime by Tim only a few days ago, and ever since then, he hadn’t been able to sleep. Jason was alive, somewhere out there, and completely insane. But the insane part didn’t matter to him. He was alive. He’d prayed so many times for that to happen, prayed for a miracle, and never thought it would ever come true. But it had.

But Jason was broken. He needed to be brought back to them now, and Jaime had no idea how to do that. And well, if Batman wasn’t able to find him, he doubted that he could, not even with the Scarab on his back. 

As it turned out though, finding him wouldn’t be the hardest part of all this. As he entered his room that night after a long shift at his part time job, he was met with a menacing figure standing in front of his window, its face covered by a red helmet.

“You need to put locks on your window,” he said nonchalantly, “you never know what kind of psycho could come creep around at night.”

Jaime was paralyzed, still not sure he believed it, even after hearing the oh so familiar voice he hadn’t heard in years. He still managed to say:

“Well, as long as the psycho is friendly, I should be fine right?”

Red Hood let out a laugh, but there was nothing happy about it.

“I don’t know if I can be considered friendly, but I’m not here to kill you so there’s that.”

“That’s good; I didn’t plan on dying tonight. Kinda have a date tomorrow. Can you please take off your helmet?”

Red Hood didn’t move for a few seconds, before sighing and taking the helmet off, revealing messy dark hair and a pale face, his blue eyes piercing through the night. He then gave a small smirk, and said:

“Hi Jaime, long time no see.”

“Jason…” Jaime answered almost in a whisper.

It took a few more seconds of them staring at each other awkwardly, before Jaime couldn’t take it anymore. Feeling that his legs had finally started responding again, he rushed to the older and threw his arms around him, hugging him as tightly as he could, afraid it would end up only being an illusion. Jason took a while, but finally started hugging back, holding onto Jaime carefully as if he was afraid he’d break.

“You’re back… for fuck sake Jason, you have no idea how much we’ve missed you…”

“Hey punk, since when do you curse?”

“Since you’ve unexpectedly come back to life!”

“Fair enough. Well it’s nice to see that at least someone’s happy to see me. “

Jaime let go of him to look at him incredulously before slapping him on the chest.

“Don’t you dare say that kind of shit ese! You don’t have a clue how badly everyone took your death!”

“Yeah? Then why is the piece of shit that ended me still alive?”

“You know we don’t kill. Under any circumstances.”

“Oh, is that ‘we’ now? “

“It’s been ‘we’ for a while, yes.”

“Fuck, Jaime, why would you do something so stupid? You and Tim, you were supposed to stay safe, away from that goddamned superhero gig! Why would you join in?”

Jaime sighed and turned to go sit on his bed.

“A lot has changed Jay, we’re not the same kids you last saw. Tim, he… he took your death really badly. Wasn’t the same anymore. Wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t sleep, didn’t get out of bed for days. I had to force him to do the most basic things. Took a while, but with Dick’s help, we managed to get him back on track. But then, he noticed how Bruce was losing his mind. Becoming violent. He knew he needed someone to keep him on his toes, he needed Robin. So he begged Dick to take his old mantle back, to reform the og Dynamic Duo, but Dick refused. He told him that if anyone needed to be Robin, it was him. And so Tim began training for months until one day, he was deemed ready. He thought it was the best way to keep your legacy alive, to honor you.”

“Of course, that idiot… why didn’t you stop him? Why did you let him do that?”

“You think I had a choice?! He only told me what was going on after months of training! What could I do at this point, when he’d finally gotten that light inside his eyes back? How could I destroy that? you think that was easy for me, seeing him follow in your footsteps, wondering if I was gonna lose him too? Supporting him like a good friend because I knew he needed me to when all I wanted to do was scream at him not to put his life in danger and risk leaving me behind?”

“Jaime…”

“No, you don’t get to interrupt me. You think we didn’t care enough about you to ‘avenge you’ or some crap? Think again! First time Tim met the Joker, because he did, he went on a rampage! He would have killed him if it wasn’t for Dick! You left a void in our lives that no one could fill. I tried to do it you know? I tried to be the big brother, to take care of Tim as well as you used to. I did everything in my power to be as good as you, but I couldn’t! I couldn’t do it without you, I needed…I just needed you by my side I…”

And Jaime just broke down, and almost instantly, Jason’s old instincts kicked in and he was by his side, holding him and soothing him.

“I’m so sorry pequeño, I should never have left you. I’ll never do it again I promise…”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough…”

“You’re kidding right? You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met! Everything was falling apart and you held it together! You took care of our Timmy so well he’s now thriving, and you managed to stay pretty sane doing it, which is not something I can say for myself unfortunately. There’s just something I don’t understand. You were never into the whole superhero gig. Tim I can understand but you? Why did you do it?”

“I didn’t choose to… it just… happened. See that scarab on my back?” he said while showing him the bug, “it latched onto me by accident, and it’s been stuck ever since. And it wasn’t an easy adjustement believe me. At one point, the scarab got reprogrammed and it controlled me, tried to make me conquer the world for an alien race.”

“I’m sorry what?”

“Yeah, I told you, a lot happened. Anyway so the team managed to save me and now the Scarab and I are mostly good. He still has some weird murder tendencies but I always manage to keep him from acting on them so we make a pretty good team.”

“I… I can’t believe that happened to you. And you survived all that? “

“I had a lot of help. I couldn’t have fought it on my own. And neither can you. You need us Jay. You need to let us help.”

“I can’t… I’m a criminal now. I did… terrible things, I just couldn’t stop being angry all the time, and this bloodlust…”

“You can still be saved. I’m not saying it will be easy, it will take time, but we can manage. I’m not giving up on you, never again.”

“Maybe you should…”

“Hey, don’t go talking like that now! You promised remember? You promised never to leave again, so you’re not going anywhere and you let me help you! That’s not up for debate!”

“….you changed. You’ve grown a lot.”

“Yeah, four years will do that to you.”

“I’ll accept your terms, on one condition. You can’t tell anyone you know where I am yet. Not even Tim.”

“Jay…”

“Please, I can’t see him yet, not when I’m like this… I’m not asking you to keep it secret for long, just… a couple of weeks...”

“He might figure it out anyway you know?”

“He won’t. He won’t think I’m dumb enough to go knock on your door.”

“Well, technically you didn’t knock. Or use the door.”

“Still a smartass little shit I see. I missed you punk.”

“And I don’t know why but I missed you too jerk.”

The talked for the rest of the night. About all the things that had happened, all the struggles they faced, and what they would do to make things better for Jason.

In the week that followed, Jaime was eaten alive by guilt every time he saw Tim, but true to his words, didn’t say anything. He’d go on missions with the team, hang out with Bart for a while, then go home to spend time with Jason. he did everything he could to help him with his mental health, to soothe his nightmares and help him cope with all he’d miss, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough. He knew HE wouldn’t be enough. But Jason still refused to meet with anyone related to his old life yet, and Jaime knew that forcing him into it would only drive him away.

Then, in the middle of the second week of their little cohabitation, something shifted completely. Or rather, someone, made things shift completely.

Jaime had been out for groceries (he needed to replace what Jason was eating if he didn’t want his mom to notice what was going on) and had put his phone on silent after Jason’s third text asking him to buy cheetos (he didn’t know why he caved in and got him a phone honestly, what a mistake.) when he finished shopping, he decided to check his phone anyway, just to make sure nothing happened, and was met with more than a dozen new texts from Jason:

_‘Dude, don’t freak out, but I just got out of the shower and there was this litteral child in your room?’_

_‘I think he’s scared of me’_

_‘Yeah, he’s definetly scared of me. He asked who the hell I was and where you were and if I had kidnapped you.’_

_‘Oh, I told him you went shopping and he asked if you were gonna buy snacks. I like this kid.’_

_‘Okay so apparently the kid is not a kid he’s sixteen. Not really believable in my opinion.’_

_‘Wait, the kid is a speedster! Wait omg is that Bart?!’_

_‘It IS Bart! Jaime why didn’t you tell me Bart was back? Aw he’s adorable what a baby boy!’_

_‘oh shoot I think he’s getting more scared by the second’_

_‘You should probably hurry up and get home.’_

_‘Oh wait nvm he’s calmed down’_

_‘I think he was just a bit spooked when he recognized my face. Now he’s talking my ears off.’_

_‘yeah so, I have no clue how to handle him, can you please come home soon?”_

_‘Don’t forget Baby Bart’s snacks’_

Reading those texts, Jaime started panicking and decided to fly home. Five minutes later, he was barging onto his room and found Jason, still half naked (at least he’d put on pants) and sitting on his desk chair while Bart was on his bed, happily eating some candies that Jason must have given him.

As soon as he saw him, Jason said:

“Oh good, you’re home. Turns out he was easier to handle than I thought. I just gave him candies and he’s been eating without a word ever since. That’s actually adorable.”

“You’re insufferable. And for God’s sake put on a shirt you perv! There are innocent eyes here! Bart Cariño, are you okay?” Jaime asked as he rushed to his boyfriend while Jason rolled his eyes.

“Yeah I’m great! You were right, Jason’s amazing! I’ll admit I was a bit shocked in the beginning but I managed! We had a great talk!”

“Did you now?” Jaime asked, looking at Jason suspiciously.

“Don’t look at me like that, we really did. Well he did most of the talking but it was nice. Made me think about a lot of things. Also he’s adorable, did I already say that? Cause that needs to be said.”

“Aw thank you you’re too sweet!”

Jaime was left dumbfounded by the exchange.

“I can’t believe Jay won over you so quickly.”

“Why ? He’s cool ! I really like him! “

“Don’t mind him cutie, he’s just jealous of my charms and afraid I’ll steal you away. By the way, are you still pining over him punk?”

“I was never pining!” Jaime exclaimed indignantly.

“Actually, he hasn’t been pining for a year now! I’m his boyfriend, did I forget to mention that? that’s usually how I introduce myself, hi, I’m Bart Allen, Jaime Reyes’ boyfriend and hopefully future husband! Guess I forgot since I was a bit shocked.”

Jason looked at both of them for a while.

“Okay, that’s actually the most precious thing I’ve ever heard. Also, good on ya Jaime, you manage to bag him eventually! I knew I was right to put my faith in you!”

“Yeah, thanks I guess. Now if you won’t mind, I think I need some time with my boyfriend so we’re gonna go for a few hours and…”

“Oh, don’t bother going away for me, I’m going out. Need to go see Timmy now.”

“You… for real?”

“Yeah. The little angel on my shoulder actually convinced me it was time to do that,” Jason added while looking pointedly at Bart who just smiled happily and said:

“He’ll be so glad to see you! But maybe you should bring him coffee, hasn’t slept a lot the past few weeks, he might need it! I’ll text him to meet me in the park in Central City, I’ll say it’s urgent, so you should be able to find him easily!”

“Great, thank you Bart, you truly are a gift! Alright I guess I’ll go now. I’ll be back tonight Jaime, if Tim hasn’t killed me before.”

“o…kay…”

“Good luck Jason! I believe in you!”

“honestly, how is this guy for real? Arlright see you later lovebirds!”

And with that he was gone. Jaime still couldn’t believe what just happened.

“How the heck did you manage to convince him? I’ve been trying for nearly two weeks?”

“Have you? Well, it was easy actually. I just told him I was worried for Timmy cause he looked really sad not to be able to find him. Also I told him about all the great things you both told me about him and how you were really affected by his death and that I was really happy he was alive again and so was his family. I think hearing about how much his death has impacted his loved ones from someone who didn’t know him and had to witness the fall out made him see things from another perspective. He just needed to be reassured that his death had mattered.”

“Have I told you how incredible you were lately?”

“No, and frankly I’m offended, you should do it more often.”

“I’ll make sure of it from now on. Seriously though, Jason’s right, you truly are a gift. I should always call you when I need to convince anyone of something, you have a way with people. “

“I’m glad to be of service. Hey, do you think Tim is gonna be alright?”

“I don’t know… that’s a lot to handle. I know I didn’t react as well as I could have. Plus, he’s gonna hate me when he realizes I’ve been hiding Jay from him all this time…”

“I’m sure he’ll understand, don’t worry about that. And if he doesn’t, well, I’ll just use my amazing people skill on him too! “

“I love you so much.”

“I know, I love you too. Now, can we watch Steven Universe and cuddle please? Tha’s why I came here in the first place after all.”

“ah, I should have known you’d only come here unannounced for an emergency,” Jaime answered teasingly, “Why am I to deny you of your dose of cuddling?”

“You’re basically contractually obligated to cuddle me anyway, that’s part of the whole dating deal!”

Jaime chuckled, and then they got to the binge watching and cuddling. As he was enjoying his time with his boyfriend, Jaime couldn’t help but wonder how things were going for his two best friends, somewhere in Central City. He hoped everything would turn out okay.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

As soon as Tim had seen Bart’s text, he’d ran out the door, completely panicked. Whatever emergency Bart had, Tim needed to go take care of it as soon as possible, especially since he made it sound like it was a life or death situation.

He arrived at their usual meeting place in the park, and was a bit surprised not to find him already waiting for him. He was about to text him to check if he was okay and nothing had happened to him, when he heard a voice behind him, a voice he’d recognize anywhere even after all these years:

“You still haven’t hit your growth spurt I see, brat.”

Tim froze in shock, not believing his ears, not daring to turn around in case that was a dream. He took a few seconds to even out his breathing, before finally finding the courage to turn around and face his long lost brother.

He was taller than Tim remembered (which was awfully annoying) and more built. He was wearing ridiculous round glasses that seemed to belong in a Harry Potter cosplay more than on his face, but somehow he pulled it off. He was also wearing a hoodie that Tim instantly recognized and made him frown.

“Hey, that’s Jaime’s hoodie! I bought him this one!”

“Really Timmy? You haven’t seen me in four years, and this is the first thing you say to me?”

Tim didn’t answer for a while, a million things going through his head.

“You’re back.”

“I am.”

“You’re alive. Like, really alive, that’s not a drill.”

“Nope, it’s really me, in the flesh.”

“… I didn’t want to believe it. When you died. I refused to believe it you know? I even tried skipping your funerals because I didn’t want to make it real. I just... I just wanted you to come back.”

“And I did. I’m back now, Timmy.”

Tears were threatening to come out, but Tim refused to let them.

“You went to Jaime.”

“I did.”

“That’s where you’ve been this whole time? “

“For a little more than a week.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you make me search for you?”

“I… I was scared to see you.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not right in the head Timmy. I’m a mess. And a part of me was jealous, resented you for taking my place. I know it’s stupid, I know I shouldn’t think like that, but the fact that Bruce chose you to replace me… it hurt.”

Tim’s heart broke and the world, but he managed to keep composure.

“I replaced Robin, not you. Never you. I couldn’t even if I tried. And I didn’t. I would never ever dream of it.”

“I know I’m being petty and immature, I just… I really felt like I lost everything. That I didn’t belong anymore. That you’d all moved on from me.”

Tim walked over to Jason, stopped in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I want you to hear me loud and clear: you will always and I do mean always, belong with us. We couldn’t bear to lose you, so you won’t lose us either. We need you Jay. And we love you. I love you.”

Then he took his brother in his arms, holding him for all four years they’d been apart, with the force of a thousand hugs. And Jason, who hadn’t even had time to breathe properly since he’d been brought back, could finally exhale.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

“How much do you hate me now?” was the first thing Jaime said to Tim when he saw him the next day.

“I don’t hate you Jaime.”

“But you’re mad.”

“No I’m not. You did the right thing. Jay would have bailed if you’d broken his trust and told me, you know how he gets. By not telling me but still insisting he stayed with you, you’ve made sure we wouldn’t lose him again. How could I be mad at that?”

“what did I do to deserve you in my life honestly?”

“I could say the same thing about you. So. Jason’s back.”

“He is. Weird huh?”

“Kinda. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. “

“Me neither. You coming to mine to see him tonight? We can have a sleepover like old times.”

“Aren’t we a bit too old or those?”

“who cares?”

“True. Count me in.”

Jaime smiled and was about to add something, but out of nowhere, Batman appeared and said:

“Blue Beetle, a word.”

Jaime was confused and admittedly a bit scared, but followed Batman to the control room anyway.

“Is there something wrong Sir?” he asked timidly.

“I wouldn’t say wrong. I just need you to deliver a package for me.”

“Oh… okay? I’ll get right on that then.”

“You don’t need to do it now, that can wait until tonight when you’ll get home. The package is for Jason.”

“I…what? How do you…. I mean…”

“Please, did you really think I didn’t know he was staying at yours? They don’t call me the world’s greatest detective for nothing.”

“…right. Why didn’t you come after him if you knew where he was all this time?”

“Because I knew he wasn’t ready to face me. He probably still isn’t. And at least, with him being at yours, I knew he wasn’t alone or in danger. And I knew you’d keep him out of trouble. “

“You… you did?”

“Of course. I trust you when it comes to my sons. You’ve proven you would do anything to keep them from harm, even if that meant saving them from themselves. You’re doing a far better job with them than I ever could.”

Okay, being praised by Batman was not how Jaime thought his day would be going when he woke up that morning, and he didn’t know how to handle it. Seeing that he seemed to be in turmoil, Bruce decided to continue.

“Anyway, I thought this might help him a bit. Let him know he’s always welcome to come back home if he chooses to. Tell him I won’t be chasing after him anymore, because I won’t treat him like a criminal. But if my son needs me, I’ll be there.”

And Bruce left without another word, leaving the package in Jaime’s hands.

That evening during their sleepover, Jaime did give Jason the package, relaying Bruce’s message word for word. As Jason carefully opened the package, he was met with something he never thought he would ever see again: his old Robin costume. Bruce had left a post it note on it, and Jason laughed after reading it, albeit a little choked up.

“What’s so funny Jay?” Tim asked, perplexed.

“It’s just… he’s such an asshole I swear to God I can’t stand him!”

And he handed the note over for Tim and Jaime to read:

_‘Thought you might want this back. It might be a bit too small for you now, but I’m sure the mask still fits. If anything, it makes for a good souvenir. You’ll always be a Robin to me.’_

Both boys couldn’t help but smile. Bruce wasn’t perfect, but it was clear that he loved all of his sons, no matter how much Jason denied it.

“You gonna take him up on his offer and meet with him?”Jaime asked.

“I don’t think so. Not yet. Last time we met, it was a huge mess. “

“Yeah, I guess a little more time away will do you both good. What about Dick though? Will you meet with him?” Tim inquired.

“Yeah, no. the last thing I need is to see him pitying me. It’s hard enough I failed to follow in his footsteps, I don’t need him looking down on me with his disappointed sad puppy dog eyes.”

“He wouldn’t do that you know? He’s missed you just as much as we did. And he would have traded anything to have his brother back. Please just… think about it at least?”

“… fine, I will. But I’m not promising anything.”

Tim didn’t push any further, knowing how stubborn Jason could be. He shared a look with Jason who nodded. Things weren’t perfect right now, but it would get better. At least, Jason was here, and that’s all they needed for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, some of you will probably wonder why Dick wasn't a part of this tearful reunion. the thing is, I wanted to insert him at the end, but I felt like he deserved more than just an insert. so there will be a whole chapter about Dickie and Jay's relationship down the line. not yet though because I have a lot planned before that.  
> Next Chapter: Dick Grayson shows his detective skills.


	7. Uncle Jake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Grayson ft his really helpful boyfriend, his extraordinary butler, and a best friend who'll always be there to rescue him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo !   
> So, this chapter is a bit different. it was really hard to write so it would be believable and I don't know if I managed to do it but heh.   
> I hope you enjoy! x

Dick was in a bad mood, and it was starting to show. The whole team was concerned, because he was usually good at hiding it for the sake of teamwork, but right now, he was just unfocused and frustrated, and they were all scared he was going to snap at them at any moment. So, they decided to stage an intervention. Except, they were all too cowardly to face a pissed of Dick Grayson, so they decided that sending Conner to find out what was wrong would have to do.

“Hold on a minute, why do I have to do it?” Conner protested loudly.

“Cause he’s less likely to snap at you and you have more chance of getting out of this alive.” Artemis explained as if it was obvious.

“You can’t know that!” Conner retorted indignantly!

“Of course we can,” Zatanna jumped in, “you guys are dating, that means he’s always gonna be softer around you than us.”

“Doesn’t mean he’ll want to talk to me though? why don’t we send Wally instead? He’s his best friend; he’ll know what to do!”

Wally shrugged apologetically.

“With how pissed he is, there’s like, fifty percent chance it’s somehow my fault, so we shouldn’t risk it. Besides, he’ll talk to you, he trusts you just as much as me nowadays, sometimes even more,” he added in a tone that he wanted encouraging but that was still tainted with a tad bit of jealousy, which Conner chose to ignore.

“please Conner,” Kaldur finally chimed in, “it’s of upmost importance, the team depends on it.”

If there was one person Conner had a hard time saying no to, it was certainly Kaldur. Upsetting that guy was like killing a unicorn: abhorrent and frankly unforgivable.

“Ugh, fine, I’ll go. Remember how great of a team player I was at my funerals!”

They all thanked him and sent him on his way. He slowly got to the training room where Dick was currently punching his frustrations away, which, admittedly, was kind of hot. ‘Focus, Kent!’ Conner berated himself before clearing his thoat and saying:

“Is he dead yet?” he pointed at the punching bag .

“Unfortunately not, he keeps resisting,” Dick grumbled in response.

“Maybe take a break? Come sit with me for a bit?”

Dick sighed but nodded.

“fine, it’s not helping as much as I would’ve hoped anyway.”

He joined Conner who had taken a sit on a bench, and gave him a peck before sitting down next to him and graciously accepting the water bottle he was handing him.

“Thanks babe.”

“You’re welcome love. So, wanna tell me what’s got you all worked up?”

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

“It’s obviously not nothing if it’s gotten you this upset. Please just tell me, maybe I can help.”

“I doubt it, but if you insist. Uncle Jake is back in town this week.”

“Uncle… Jake? Who’s that?”

“Basically he’s one of Bruce’s old pals from boarding school, one he kept in contact with all those years which is quite a feat for Bruce.”

“I see. And that’s a bad thing?”

“Didn’t use to be. I used to adore the guy, consider him family even. Thought really highly of him. “

“Then what happened? “

“Damian.” Dick simply said.

Conner just looked at him even more confused than before.

“What does Damian have to do with it?”

“Do you remember that day when he had that huge panic attack and we had to sedate him?”

“Of course I do. I stayed at his bedside even though we couldn’t stand each other at the time because Bart said I was the best choice besides him.”

“You never wondered what caused it?”

“He told me something happened to him in the past and talking to you had triggered it to resurface. Isn’t that what happened?”

“In a way. Basically we were having a normal conversation, and suddenly I received a text from Bruce telling me Uncle Jake was coming for dinner that evening. And when Damian heard the name, he got all pale and a few seconds later, he was on the ground, Bart at his side screaming at me to go get a sedative. His face… I could never forget the terror on his face. All of that caused by one name. “

“You think… this… Jake character is going to do something to Damian in the future?”

“I’m almost certain he is. But I still don’t know exactly what, when or why. And this pisses me of. I need to figure out what his deal before Damian shows up, but none of my researches have led anywhere! I can’t go to Bruce without any proof other than my gut feeling. I mean, he might believe me especially if his son is involved, but I don’t want to risk it. I need to put all the pieces together, and I can’t do that because the only two people that could tell me the whole truth are long gone.”

“… Okay, now I’m just as frustrated as you. We can’t let anything happen to Damian, you’re right. So, what’s our next move?”

“Our next move?”

“Well duh, you don’t think I’ll let anyone hurt Damian do you? I’ll help you with whatever it is you do.”

“I knew there was a reason I was dating you. Well, so far, all my leads have been dead ends. There’s no dirt on this guy anywhere. I searched on every data base, he’s as white as snow. “

“Maybe you’re searching in the wrong direction. Think of it this way: why would he want to hurt Damian specifically?”

“I don’t know, revenge I guess? Maybe Bruce did something to him or something?”

“I that was the case, why wait for Damian to show up? Why not attack you or Jason, or even Bruce directly? What does Damian have that’s special?”

“I don’t know… maybe because he’s Bruce’s blood? And according to Alfred, he looks just like he did at the same age…”

“And you’ve told me that Bruce and Jake have been friends since their school years didn’t you?”

“Right… oh for fuck sake, I’m so dumb! I focused on him in his adult life to try and find his flaws; I didn’t think to go back to his childhood! What a moron! and I call myself a detective!”

“Hey, don’t put yourself down. Sometimes you just need another perspective, especially when the case hits so close to home. So, we’re going on a secret investigation into your adoptive father and his buddy’s school life? Sounds like a pretty good date if you ask me.”

“Is that just a ploy to get to spend more time with me? Cause let me tell you, it’s working.”

“I can neither confirm, nor deny. Hey, should we go undercover as reporters? That could be fun.”

“I think you’re spending a little too much time with Lois Lane.”

“Hey, not my fault she absolutely adores me. Besides, who would babysit Jon if I wasn’t there?”

“hey, I’m not complaining. I’m glad she gets to mother you, since both of your fathers are basically shitheads. Well, Clark is not as bad anymore but still.”

“Heh, I learned to live with it. Besides, I think he’s really warming up to me these days. But we’re not there to talk about my family issues. Let’s start planning our investigation!”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this excited about something.”

“I really wanna see what all the fuss about being a detective is about, it sounds fun!”

And so they began planning, looking into old school reports, class pictures and yearbooks, tracking down old classmates and teachers to see if they could go talk to them. In the end, they didn’t end up trying to pass as reporters, because ‘that’s stupid Conner, we don’t look old enough to be reporters,’ and Conner pouted a bit but accepted defeat. Instead, Dick used his Richard Grayson, ward of Bruce Wayne persona and pretended he was doing researches on his guardian’s old friends and classmates to prepare a surprise for his birthday. Conner was surprise at how easy it was to get appointments like that, but he supposed being the son of a famous billionaire had its perks.

Most of the people they met ended up being useless, just praising Bruce’s many accomplishment and pretending to have been ‘his best friend growing up’ and that they really wanted to reconnect. Obvious opportunistic behavior, and that made Conner sick, but Dick graciously handled everything with a polite smile that seemed to win everyone over no matter what. It was impressive.

Finally, they met a woman who actually had the infos they were looking for. Serena Wyatt was a retired English teacher that had always had a soft spot for Bruce. When they met her, she looked very strict and unforgiving, but you could tell she had a kind soul underneath it. She invited them in and served them tea before starting talking:

“Of course I remember young Bruce Wayne. He was one of my best students. Hardworking, silent, discreet and brilliant. He’d do anything to blend in and not be noticed at the time, so I was a bit surprised when I started seeing him in every newspaper after he graduated. Didn’t seem the type.”

“Do you know anything about his relationship with other students? Did he have a lot of friends?” Dick asked.

“Not really. When he started out here he was mostly alone for a while, but it didn’t seem to bother him. I think the other kids found him odd so they avoided him. Then one day this student that was a year older than him started taking a liking to him, Jacob Turner I seem to recall. He started talking to him constantly, eating with him at lunch, introducing him to his group of friends, which was pretty large since he was very popular. Now most teachers thought it was nice of him, they saw it as him reaching out to a kid down on his luck and taking him under his wing.”

“You said most teachers,” Conner noticed, “but I assume you didn’t see things that way?”

“No indeed. I know it might seem strange but there was always something… strange about Jacob. He always made me feel uneasy, especially in regards to how he treated young Bruce. You wouldn’t notice it if you didn’t look closely, but he was oddly territorial over Bruce. I always found it odd that, with all the popularity Bruce amassed that came with being friends with Jacob, he didn’t make any other friends. So maybe he was to shy and relied on his only friend, or he was just more of the loner type, but still, I thought it wasn’t normal so I started digging. And I heard rumors. Some students said they were being threatened by Jacob to stay away from Bruce if they looked like they started giving him too much attention. Even his own friends weren’t safe from these bursts of possessiveness. I never had any tangent proofs, so I couldn’t exactly go to the headmaster about this, but I always felt like something dark was going on.”

“So basically, you’re saying that Jak… that Mr. Turner had a kind of… unhealthy obsession for Bruce?”

“precisely, and I always feared for the worse. Fortunately, it seems nothing drastic ever happened, and I’m sure Bruce has lost contact with his old classmate at this point, so Jacob must not have that kind of influence on him anymore. At least I hope so for him. People like Jacob Turner; they tend to be really successful in deceiving the world and making it think they’re practically saints when there’s actually something dark lurking under the surface. I’ve seen it happen more than once in my long career, perfect kids who ended up being actual monsters. Some only went as far as bullying others when the teachers had their backs turned, but others… sometimes you wonder if you could have done anything to prevent it as a teacher, but some people are beyond saving.”

Dick and Conner shared a look, deciding they’d heard enough .

“Thank you so much for your time Ms. Wyatt, this has been very interesting, we won’t bother you any longer.”

“You’re quite welcome boys, I hope you got what you were looking for. “

They politely said goodbye to the old woman and took their leave. Once they were alone, they started talking about their new discovery:

“So. Your father’s best friend is a creepy stalker. Not that it’s surprising all things considering.”

“I swear to God, only Bruce. The picture starts getting a bit more clear. So Jake is off his rocker, he’s obsessed with Bruce, has been trying to subtly control him for years, but probably lost control around the time he became Batman. Not to mention he must have felt even more enraged when Bruce started adopting kids left and right. He couldn’t isolate him anymore. Wonder why he never tried to get rid of me or Jay.”

“Not that you’re aware of you mean.”

“Yeah that’s true… come to think of it, Jake was conveniently in town every time someone tried to kidnap me the first few years of me being Bruce’s ward. Maybe he had something to do with it and just knows how to cover his tracks.”

“I think if we look back on his behavior now that we know more about him, we might find even more oddities like this one. But for now, let’s assume he did try to get rid of you, but couldn’t do it cause you’re basically a ninja, not that he knows, then he changes tactics and decides to make sure everyone in the family loves him and that he’s considered a part of it.”

“yeah, that seems like his pattern. So Bruce trusts him, I trust him, Jason trusts him and eventually when he joins the family Tim also trusts him I guess.”

“Hold on, Tim? You mean that kid who single handedly guessed yours and Batman’s secret identity at only 11 years old, and who’s best friends with Jason and the other kid who’s Bart’s future boyfriend?”

“Yeah that’s him.”

“That’s another one of your future brothers? Will Bruce ever rest?”

“Probably not. You should really meet Tim and Jaime one day, they’re great kids. Anyway, back to our case. So I see how he could have continued to be part of our lives, but then Damian enters the frame. And well, it seems obvious that he’s been specifically targeted because of how much he resembles Bruce. He couldn’t keep controlling the father, and so he moved on to the son…”

“That son of a bitch.”

“Precisely. Only problem is that this is all speculations. About a future that might never even happen. So how do we present tat to Bruce in a way that makes him cut all contacts with Creepy Mc Douche before it’s too late?”

“That’s a good question… hey, I just thought about something.”

“What is it?”

“Did you ever think about talking to Alfred? I mean, he’s probably known Jake just as long as Bruce, and I mean, Alfred has always been very perceptive. He might have some insights that could be crucial.”

“…When did you get so smart? Like don’t get me wrong, I always knew you were smart but it’s like you’re trying to come for my genius title at this point.”

“Nah, you can keep it, I like my buff guy persona, it makes people underestimate me and think I don’t actually have a brain.”

“Have you ever considered being an evil mastermind? I think you have all the qualities required.”

“I can’t say I have, but if I did, I totally have a head start, it would make Luthor so proud he’d probably make sure I succeed.”

Dick laughed out loud.

“I can just imagine you two bonding over your last manipulation, honestly that’s the most hilarious thing I’ve ever heard! Anyway, I’ll try to talk with Alfred tomorrow morning when Bruce will be out of the Manor. In the meantime, let’s ditch the case for now and Ill treat you to dinner.”

“A man after my own heart.”

They spent the rest of the rest of the evening having a pretty great date, enjoying each other’s presence in general.

The next morning, Dick woke up early and went for a jog, knowing full well Bruce would be gone when he’d come back and he could put his plan in motion.

After a really good run and a quick shower, he went to the kitchen where Alfred was waiting with a mug of coffee for him.

“Master Dick, you’re up awfully early today.”

“Yeah, I’m trying this new thing where I actually live like a normal human and sleep at night. I’m not sure how long it’s gonna last though.”

“A worthy pursuit nonetheless. Master Bruce you were out with young Mr. Kent yesterday? You seem to be spending quite some time with him these days.”

“Hm, he’s good company that’s why.”

“I’m sure he is. I assume Master Bruce is still unaware of the truth behind your relationship?”

“But as always, you already know everything.”

“You aren’t exactly discreet, Master Dick. I’m happy for you, he seems to be treating you well. “

“I’m glad you approve. Speaking of approval, I wanted to ask you about something.”

“Really? Well, I’m all ears as always.”

“It’s about… Uncle Jake.”

“Ah. And what about Mr. Turner?”

“I was wondering if you ever felt like he was… off, somehow. Did you ever have that feeling that he was maybe not as nice as he let on?”

Alfred stared at him for a whole minute, his face completely blank, before saying in a very dark, serious tone:

“I have been waiting for this very moment for twenty five years. Follow me. “

Dick was kind of spooked by the sudden change in mood, but did as told and soon, he was in front of Alfred’s quarters, somewhere he didn’t even remember entering since he started living in the Manor. Alfred took him to his small study and got out a file that was as thick as an encyclopedia.

“What’s this?” Dick asked curiously.

“My complete and non-exhaustive file on Jacob Turner. You see, as Master Bruce was growing up, I knew a lot of people would try to take advantage of him or hurt him, and I wasn’t about to let that happen, so every time my young master would meet new people, or anyone who would start lurking to close to him I would keep a file on. It helped me deal with a lot of would be scammers and criminals at the time. And Then one summer after a year of boarding school, Bruce brought home another young boy. I thought he was pretty much non-threatening at first, but still decided to do a little digging anyway. What I started finding out horrified me and made me feel a lot of sympathy for the boy. As it turned out, his living situation was awful. His parents were terrible abusers who never got charged for it because of how much influence they had in the world. I did try to raise concerns but nobody would listen to a lowly butler. So instead, I made sure Jacob would always have the Manor as an escape. His parents were very interested in him being close to Master Bruce , probably so they could gain even more influence and power. But Jacob seemed like a sweet kid, so I wasn’t to worried. At first, at least.”

“And then something changed?”

“Indeed. Since I couldn’t take care of Jacob’s situation, I decided to keep monitoring him to make sure he was still mostly okay. And when looking at his school life, I started seeing some… worrying signs.”

After those words, he started going through the file until he found old articles that he showed Dick.

“ ‘Number of attacks around Prestigious Boarding school increasing’ ‘Suspicious death of student finally confirmed to be a suicide’ ‘fire breaks out in Gotham, larceny is considered as a lead’, Holy hell Alfred, there’s lie, a dozen of them! And they’re all from when they were in school! Do you really think he had a hand in all of this?”

“I am almost positive he did. Every time someone so much as showed interest in Master Bruce, something would happen to them in the following weeks. At first it only happened at school, but soon it started spreading to everywhere Master Bruce would meet people. It even continued in his adult life, albeit a lot less successfully.”

“Let me guess, he tried to have me kidnapped or killed more than once?”

“I don’t have any substantial proof of that but that is indeed my suspicion. So far I don’t think he’s tried anything against Master Jason. He probably gave up after all attempts on you failed.”

“He probably figured out it was far more beneficial for him to get us on his side. But I don’t understand, if you’ve been on his trail for so long, how come you haven’t said anything to Bruce before?”

“I tried Master Dick, but it didn’t go over well. When Master Bruce was seventeen, I told him about my concerns, I told him I was afraid young Jacob was not all that clean and that he might bring him down with him. But you see, Jacob was Master Bruce’s blind side. He felt so much sympathy for all the suffering he had gone through by his own parents’ hands that he was determined to make sure nothing would ever happened to him again; and that allowed Jacob to manipulate him and hide his treachery from him. When he heard my suspicions, he grew very angry and told me never to talk about his friend that way again. So I didn’t. Until now. But I’ve done all I could to limit his influence. And when Master Bruce became Batman, I may have implied that it would be better not to tell his long time friend for fear it would put him in danger, to which he agreed of course.”

“That’s so messed up… do you think there’s any way to make him see reason? “

“I’m afraid none of my researches can be considered proof. You know how stubborn your guardian can be, just one of those incidents would make him suspicious of anyone else, but…”

“Blind side. I get it. What if we caught him red handed?”

“And how do you propose we do this?”

“I might have an idea. I’ll get back to you in a day or two about this.”

“I must ask, Master Dick. What possessed you to start digging into Jacob? You’ve always seemed to be quite enamored with him until now. What changed?”

“Damian. I’m doing this for Damian. I don’t know what or when exactly, but Jake is gonna do something to him, that I’m sure of. So I need him out of our lives for good before that can happen. I won’t let him get hurt, never.”

“I see… I will give you all the assistance you require for this task of course. Let me know of any development. Would you like to keep the file?”

“Yes please, I might need it. Hey, Alfred?”

“Yes Master Dick?”

“You know Bruce is lucky to have you right? We all are. This family would fall apart without you, you’re our rock.”

Alfred gave him a small, kind smile.

“Thank you, Master Dick. I hope to continue taking care of this family for years to come.”

It took two days for Dick to finalize his plan. The plan in itself was pretty simple, but he’d had to study Jake’s psychological profile in order to know exactly what to say or do to provoke the reaction he wanted from him.

He’d settled for a simple confrontation with secret recording. It wasn’t easy to make him admit to his crimes, even after Dick had told him exactly what he knew and that he was going to tell. He’d feigned innocence and confusion for a while, but Dick had riled him up enough, saying he would tell Bruce and Bruce would take action, that Bruce would obviously believe him because he was his son and therefore more important than an old pal from school. That’s when Jake snapped. Saying Dick had no idea how much influence he had and would always have on Bruce. That no one could turn him against him, and that he was ‘his’. He just went full psycho from one second to the next.

Dick was already inwardly gloating at the success, until he started feeling dizzy and realized it might have been a stupid idea to come alone. Then again, he’d always been reckless. The last thing he did before passing out from the drugging was to use his emergency button to call for help.

When he woke up, he was not, in fact, tied up on a chair in some abandoned warehouse about to be tortured or killed. No he was back home, in his bed, and Wally was sitting on a chair next to him, looking worried.

“Oh, hey Walls, what’s up?”

Wally jumped at the sound of his voice, before suddenly becoming angry.

“What’s up?! What’s up?! That’s all you got to say for yourself?!”

“Uh… did I do something?”

“Besides being reckless and stupid and risking your life?! I’m so close to hitting you right now!”

“o…Kay… what happened? All I remember is succeeding in exposing that scumbag Jake but then everything is blurry.”

“Of course it is, he drugged you you utter idiot! Good think you still had enough brain cells to send a distress call to the team!”

“Wait, I sent it to the team? Damn it, wrong button, I was trying to call Bats!”

“See what I mean? Idiot! Anyway, I knew you would never use that button lightly, so as soon as I received the signal, I took off, and got there just in time to see that son of a bitch casually carrying you to a sketchy black van. He tried to tell me you were some drunk homeless troubled teenager and that he was taking care of you, but I didn’t take the time to listen, I just punched him in his ugly face and knocked him out, told the rest of the team to come collect him and took you home. Bruce didn’t take the news too well. He’s currently talking with Alfred and Kon, they’re filling the blank on all that happened. Since when are you and Kon role playing as Holmes and Watson in your spare time by the way? You could have told us, we would have helped.”

“It wasn’t something that required the whole team, and this wasn’t an official mission anyway. Besides, it wasn’t even dangerous.”

“Sure, that’s why I had to save your life.”

“I mean the investigating part wasn’t dangerous. The rest is on me, I should have told someone about where I was going. Ugh, Kon is gonna kill me.”

“Yeah, probably, if I haven’t done it first.”

“What was the point of saving me if you’re just gonna end my life now?”

“I couldn’t let any psycho do it. I deserve it more than that scumbag.”

“Fair enough. Hey, thanks for saving me Walls. I’m sorry I scared you, but thanks for always being there to the rescue.”

“Of course, it’s my job to make sure you survive til adulthood. Probably beyond too, if you keep being this stupid.”

“Does this mean you’ll protect me from the wrath of my boyfriend?”

Wally snorted.

“Nah, you’re on your own for this one. It’s his right to be as pissed as he wants. Besides, he’s never really pissed at you anyway. You just look at him with your kicked puppy eyes and he forgets all about being mad. Disgusting.”

“Do I really do that? and it works?”

“It really does. Can’t blame him though, that’s some quality puppy eyes you got.”

“Thanks I guess.”

“You’re welcome. Hey Dickie?”

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t do something like that ever again. I swear to God my heart stopped for a sec when I received the signal. At least let me know when you’re planning on doing something reckless next time.”

“So you can lock me in a tower a throw away the key?”

“Exactly. No but seriously, promise me?”

“I promise. No reckless doing without warning you anymore.”

Wally gave him a relieved smile and ruffled his hair before getting up.

“Now that that’s settled, I gotta go tell Kon you’re ready to be screamed at. “

“Nooooo traitor!”

“Hey, no whining, you deserve it.”

And that wasn’t exactly false. So he took the lecture without protesting for a few minutes, but then he decided to try using the “kicked puppy eyes” and as it turned out, Wally was right, and Conner stopped in the middle of his rant, sighed loudly and gave Dick a hug and told him he was sorry for screaming, that he’d just been scared because he cared about him so much and to please never do it again. Dick was actually shocked at how well that worked.

Then came the moment he was dreading the most: talking with Bruce. His adoptive father entered the room not long after Conner had left , and just sat on the chair, not saying anything and just looking at him .

“Hey, Brucie? You gonna say something at some point or are we just gonna look each other dead in the eyes for hours?”

“…Right. I just wanted to tell you I was sorry. I put you in danger because I was too stubborn and blind to see the truth. If I had listened to Alfred all those years ago, it never would have happened. “

“It’s okay, we all have those blind spots sometimes.”

“It’s not okay. You could have been hurt, you or Jason. and that would have been my fault. Not to mention all the other people who’ve been hurt by my fault.”

“Don’t say that! None of this was your fault! He’s a psycho, and he’s good at pretending he isn’t! He fooled all of us at one point or another, and used your kindness against you. “

“But you wised up to his treachery. I didn’t.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly do it by myself. I wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for Dami.”

“Conner told me. So you did all this for Damian?”

“Of course. I couldn’t let anything happen to him if I could prevent it. Now whatever that asshole would have done won’t ever be happening.”

“I think you were born to be an older brother. It just comes naturally to you. I’m proud of you, Dick.”

Dick didn’t know what to answer to that, so he just swallowed and nodded.

When he was finally alone again, he allowed himself to feel proud too. He’d done it. he’d prevented something terrible for his precious future baby brother. Now, finally, he could breathe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, How amazing is Alfred? Like, sure, Conner is being precious, Wally's making up for his past mistake and being an A+ best friend , Bruce actually has feelings and Dickie is the most adorable idiot, but ALFRED! I LOVE THAT GUY MORE THAN I LOVE LIFE! I'M THIS CLOSE TO WRITING A SPIN OFF ABOUT HIM LIKE OMG   
> Next Chapter: Wally being an idiot, until he isn't anymore.


	8. I Never Knew You Were The Someone Waiting For Me (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or all the times Wally has been less than smart, and the one time he actually started to get it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Guess who's back, back again! Brdflash's back, tell a friend!  
> Okay so this chapter was absolutely not meant to go this way, or to become a two parter, but I felt like I needed to go deeper into Wally's backstory and feelings so you could understand his motives better. also, Artemis wanted her say and I wasn't about to deny her. So here ya go, enjoy some Wally feels with a healthy dose of Artemis cause Spitfire is still cute.

There was no denying that Wally West was smart. Some would even call him a genius. When it came to science, he sure went above and beyond what was expected for his age, after all, he managed to recreate the experiment that gave his uncle super speed at only eleven years old.

But sometimes, more often than not if he was being honest, he would completely forget to actually use his brain and end up messing up.

So yeah, basically, Wally West was an idiot, and his stupidity knew no bounds, especially when it came to his relationship with his best friend.

Wally wasn’t ashamed to say meeting Dick, or Robin as he didn’t know his secret identity back then, was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He’d never had any real friends before him, and the fact that they’d clicked almost instantly, becoming inseparable was unprecedented.

It only took him a few weeks to decide that he never wanted to reach a point where Robin wouldn’t be a part of his life anymore, and that he’d have him by his side for the rest of his days. When he’d told this newfound resolution to her aunt Iris, she’d told him that it ‘sounded an awful lot like wedding vows’, and he’d been confused. That didn’t make sense to him, why would she compare it to a wedding? They were two boys, they couldn’t marry each other could they? Besides, he wasn’t a big fan of marriages. After all, his parents were married and it didn’t seem like they were really happy. He supposed Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry were a good counter example, but still.

Anyway, he didn’t let those words worry him too much. She was probably just teasing anyway.

Then came his first real fight with Robin, and his first instance of showing how stupid he could become in stressful situations. In his defense, he’d had a pretty bad day. He’d gone on a pretty important mission with his uncle Barry and things had taken a turn for the worse. When Barry had told him to get out of there because it was too dangerous, he’d refused to listen and acted recklessly, causing himself to get hurt. It didn’t get too serious fortunately, and he healed fast, but he was then benched by Barry who looked at him with the most disappointed look he’d ever seen. Wally knew that look very well, it was the default look his father had when he looked at him, and seeing it on the face of the uncle he admired and adored so much cut deep. Not knowing where else to turn, Wally decided to seek comfort from his best friend, but it wasn’t comfort he found, but more berating and disappointed glares.

Robin was furious when he’d heard that he’d put his life on the line so recklessly, and he wasn’t about to let him forget it. in retrospect, Wally knew that he’d only been mad because he was scared and cared about him, but at the time, he was still really much in his feeling of being a failure and undeserving. So after taking the beginning of the rant silently, he finally snapped and said:

“Oh please, spare me the crap okay? You’re not my parent, so don’t go around telling me what I should or shouldn’t do! It’s not like you care anyway! If you gave a damn about me you’d have told me your name by now, so I don’t see what you’re so mad about!”

And, yeah, that was low, but it was something that had been going around Wally’s head for a while. The idea that maybe this friendship meant far less to Robin than it did to him. He knew about Batman’s paranoia, and that Robin didn’t have a choice but to follow his rule, but he couldn’t shake the feeling from his mind.

Robin looked like he’d been hit in the face for a second, before turning stone cold and saying in an icy, sharp tone:

“You’re a real asshole sometimes you know? Whatever, I’m leaving. Call me when you’ve decided not to be an idiot anymore. Or don’t, see if I care.”

And true to his words, he left, and Wally had never regretted anything more in this life than at this very moment. He just sat down in the middle of the desert park, completely alone and without anyone to turn to, and started crying. He didn’t stop until he saw the sun starting to set and knew he needed to get home if he didn’t want to get in trouble. Of course, once home, things were even worse and he ended up going straight to bed without even eating and passing out from exhaustion.

It took a whole week before things got better. Barry came to him to tell him he was sorry for being so angry, that it didn’t mean he didn’t love him or wasn’t proud of him anymore, just that he was scared because he meant a lot to him, and that if he was willing to listen more and to be more careful, he could be Kid Flash again. Wally of course promised to do all of that, eager to have this opportunity once again. While he was happy to have his mantle and his uncle back, he still missed Robin far too much, but felt too ashamed and shy to go to him. Apologizing wasn’t the issue, he was just terrorized at the thought that maybe he’d already screwed up too much and Robin wouldn’t take him back.

Finally, not being able to sleep for days seemingly did the trick, and he decided to send Robin a text:

_‘I’m sorry for everything. You’re right, I can be an asshole, but you’re my best friend and I don’t want to lose you.’_

He waited nervously for a reply, and it came ten minutes later:

_‘You’re still an idiot. Meet me somewhere in 20 minutes? I’ll send you the address. Need to show you something.’_

He sent a reply saying he’d be there and as soon as he got the address, he was out the door, running as fast as he could. He arrived with two minutes to spare, and Robin was already waiting for him, except he was in civil. He still had glasses to cover his face of course. Wally smiled timidly at him, still unsure of where they stood, and Robin waved absentmindedly in return, looking like he was deep in thoughts.

“So… is there a particular reason you asked me to a cemetery?”

He hesitated for a bit, before finally saying:

“I need to show you something. Follow me.”

Wally did so without question. They ended up stopping in front of two graves, and Wally read the names on the tombstone: John and Mary Grayson. Confused, he turned to Robin who had just taken his glasses off and was now staring intently at the graves. Without taking his eyes off them, he said in a soft voice, barely above a whisper:

“Those are my parents. They died nearly two years ago now. We were acrobats in a circus, and our director, Haly, refused to pay a local mob boss for “protection”, so he decided to retaliate. He had our trapezes be sabotaged. I watched as they broke during our number, I watched my parents fall to their death. You see, we were known for not using any safety nets, we didn’t need them, we never fell. Until that day that is… I lost everything that night, my family, my home, my innocence. I got sent into the system and was already preparing for a miserable life, when I got visited by Bruce Wayne. I had already seen him the night my parents died. He’d told me how sorry he was, and that he knew how I felt, he’d gone through the same thing at the same age as me, seeing his parents murdered right in front of him. And now, he was back in front of me and wanted to take me in, to be my guardian. I truly had nothing to lose, so I said yes. Few weeks later, I discovered that my very distant guardian that was barely there was actually Batman, and that he’d been spending every night since I came to live with him tracking down my parent’s killer. He told me he just wanted to bring them to justice as soon as possible so I wouldn’t grow up filled with ideas of vengeance like he did. When I learned all this, I wanted to help. Bruce didn’t want to let me at first, saying I was too young, but he knew I would never be satisfied unless I participated. So he let me help him and we managed to arrest the killer. But oddly enough, I didn’t feel satisfied after that. I knew my parents would get justice, but that didn’t bring them back. I still felt empty and without a purpose. Then Bruce asked me if I would like to continue fighting crime, to prevent other children like myself and him to suffer. And I knew that was what I needed. So I said yes, and I became Robin.”

Wally stayed silent, still trying to comprehend everything he heard, looking at his best friend with compassion and grief. Dick, suddenly self conscious, cleared his throat, before adding:

“So yeah, basically, my name is Richard Grayson, Dick for my friends. But I’ve had a hard time being Dick Grayson ever since losing my parents. It was a lot easier being Robin. My name came up with that nickname you know? She used to call me her little Robin because she said I reminded her of one every time I was in the air. So in a way, Robin allows me to be far more carefree and truthful. But anyway, now you know the whole big secret, and Bruce is probably going to kill me tonight so that might be the last thing I ever do, but I really wanted you to know.”

“I… I’m so sorry all of this happened to you Rob…Dick. I can’t imagine going through all of this as young as you were… and I’m sorry for what I said the other day, I wasn’t thinking straight and I was feeling bad about myself…”

“It’s okay Walls, I know you didn’t mean to upset me or anything. Besides, it probably wasn’t the best idea to just scream at you when you were already down. But you saying I didn’t care, that hurt me. Not for my sake, but for yours. Because I could see that deep down, a part of you really thought I didn’t care about you and that kind of pissed me off even more, but I was mostly pissed at the world and you just happened to be the only person there so I ended up being mad at you and honestly that’s a whole mess but, I just wanted to tell you, you’re my best friend in the whole world and I never want to lose you either. And I never want you to feel like you’re alone because, no matter how much I might be mad at you sometimes, I’ll always love you. Got it?”

“Got it… and I love you too Dickie, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I promise I’ll at least try to be less stupid in the future.”

Dick just smiled and hugged him.

Wally did try to follow through on his promise, but sometimes his demons would take over and make it impossible for him to think properly.

The first few years after learning of Dick’s secret identity, he didn’t really do to much that caused any damages to their relationships. Come to think of it, they didn’t get into anymore fights for a very long while. They on the contrary were getting closer and closer as they grew up, despite their age difference. In fact, Wally never played this card. He knew Dick hated being reminded he was younger than all his friends, and he had enough belittling from Roy, and even Kaldur although he didn’t really do it on purpose, he just felt like he had to act all mature and big brother like around them. So Wally, instead, just made it so Dick knew he saw him as an equal, and that his age didn’t matter to him.

Then the team started, and they met Conner and Megan and Artemis. Dick just watched amused as Wally kept trying to seduce Megan unsuccessfully for month, never really trying to discourage him even though he knew he didn’t stand a chance against Conner (not that Wally actually knew he was even competing with him, something that seemed to be a recurring motif in his life.) all in all, it was just a fun period.

And then, Wally started having feelings for Artemis. And would you believe it, she liked him back. That was something Wally never thought would ever happen to him, to have his feelings for someone reciprocated. And he knew he should probably work on his self-esteem issues at this point, even Black Canary had shown concerned about the amount of self deprecation he did, even humorously. But Wally was very good at running away from his problems until it caught up to him and so that’s what he did.

So, he and Artemis started dating, and around the same time Dick had some kind of fling with Zatanna, and they would go on double dates and that was great, honestly. Until Artemis pointed out that he would usually pay more attention to Dick than to her during those double dates. She’d said it in a joking tone, but he could see that was something that really upset her deep down. So he started thinking about it, wondering if his behavior was normal and if he’d really been in the wrong. He didn’t want to hurt his girlfriend, he really wanted things to work out between them, because not only did he really like her, but she was also a dear friend and his teammate, if things didn’t work out, he would lose far more than his first girlfriend. So he made the decision to make her his absolute priority from that point on.

And, since Wally was incapable of focusing on two things at once, that meant he started deserting Dick a lot. He barely noticed it when he stopped dating Zatanna (or whatever it was they were doing, he never really understood) and when he started getting more and more silent and sad looking. He didn’t even notice he himself was starting getting a bit more miserable as the months went by because he missed his best friend. He probably thought it was due to the stress of trying to be the perfect boyfriend.

And then Bart and Damian crashed into their lives and turned everything around its head; soon every time he looked at Dick, the older speedster was here, and it was like being on the outside looking into his own past, like he was seeing how his life had been and wasn’t anymore. So he tried to reinsert himself into Dick’s life as if nothing happened, but Dick wasn’t having it. So all of a sudden he was obsessed with getting his best friend back, and he was deserting his girlfriend, and now the two most important people in his life were mad at him.

Thankfully Bart was able to knock some sense into him, and he managed to get his Dickie back. Artemis was another story altogether. He finally managed to sat her down and talk to her.

“Look, I know I’ve been doing a crappy job as a boyfriend lately, and I’m sorry about that. but you gotta admit you weren’t exactly perfect either. You know how much Robin means to me, and you know I needed to do everything in my power so he would forgive me, so why did you get so defensive so quick?”

“I just don’t see why you should be the one apologizing! He’s the one who acted like a child! If he had a problem with me, he should just have said it to my f…”

“You really think this has anything to do with you? Stop thinking everyone is out to get you for a second, this wasn’t about you at all! This was about me and him, and the fact that I’ve been a terrible friend for months! And he didn’t deserve that. I should be able to make time for both my best friend and girlfriend, and that’s what I’m going to do from now on.”

“That’s what you say, but I’m pretty sure you’re just gonna put him first every time and leave me on the back burner.”

Wally sighed.

“Arty, seriously, this isn’t like you. You’re not the kind of girl to demand all of your boyfriend’s attention. Why are you acting like this?”

And suddenly, Artemis finally seemed to realize that she might have been taking things too far.

“…damn, that’s what I’m doing aren’t I? I’m going all psycho bitch on your ass…”

“Well, I wouldn’t have said it like that but…”

“But that’s what’s happening, fuck this is embarrassing… I never meant to become like this. I just… I know I can never compete with Robin.”

“What do you mean? There’s no competition, you’re not even fighting in the same category!”

“We kind of are though. You just don’t realize it. “

“I don’t see what you mean.”

“One day, you will. And I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for that day… “

“You’re confusing me right now…”

“Don’t worry about it. Listen, I know that your bond with Robin is strong, and that you have a history I might never even understand. And I’ll admit that sometimes, it makes me jealous. But it’s not fair to you to punish you for that, and I see it now. From now on, I’ll try to be more understanding. And I’ll even apologize to Dick, he’s my friend to and I shouldn’t be like this with him. But Wally… please don’t let me become just an afterthought? I just don’t want to feel like you don’t care about me anymore…”

That was the thing about Artemis. All of Wally’s fear of not being enough and having no one who cared for him? She had the same. Wally took her in his arms and kissed her forehead.

“I will never stop caring about you Arty. Never. Even if we end up not working out, you’ll always have a place in my heart, and I want you to always be sure of that.”

“You promise?”

“I swear. I know I’m pretty much a disaster when it comes to other people’s feelings sometimes, but I’m really trying, and I’ll try even harder from now on so I don’t keep hurting neither you nor Robin.”

“Thanks Baywatch… and for what it’s worth, I think you’re pretty great with other people’s feeling as long as you actual se your brain and try to see the bigger picture. So stop putting yourself down and just take things one step at a time yeah?”

“Yeah okay, I’ll try that.”

And honestly, he should probably have taken her advice more seriously, that would probably have prevented him from acting irrationally when he realized what was happening between Dick and Conner.

At first, when they started getting closer all of a sudden, he just felt a bit confused. Not that it was that out of the ordinary, they’d always clicked pretty well. Besides, Conner had just broken up with Megan who’d then decided to go away for a whole year, so Conner was probably feeling quite lonely, suddenly living alone in Mount Justice, so it wasn’t surprising that he’d found comfort in hanging out with Dick.

But then he started noticing that sometimes, they weren’t close in a way friends usually were close. He thought maybe he was just imagining things, that since Dick had come out to him, he suddenly saw all his interactions with other boys as being potentially ess than platonic, but that didn’t make sense because he didn’t have that feeling with any other boy Dick would interact with.

Soon, it was clear he hadn’t been seeing things, as Conner got less and less discreet in his showing affection to Dick. So there really was something going on then. And somehow, instead of being happy for his friend, Wally felt awful. He started distrusting Conner’s every move, suspecting him of taking advantage of Dick’s kind nature. And he messed up. He not only managed to offend Conner, but he also hurt Dick by implying could never love him. He wasn’t actually trying to make him feel bad, he was more trying to convince himself that Conner was dishonest when he knew he was actually one of the most genuine people he knew. And he didn’t know why he suddenly nedded him to be the villain of the story, he just did.

Artemis came to him after his big fight with the pair, and to her credit, she didn’t make him feel even more miserable that he already was. She just sat down and said:

“Dick said you might need someone to talk to right now. “

Of course. Even after Wally had hurt him, he still would make sure he had someone to help him go through his crap.

“He did huh? “

“Yup. Said he was too upset at you to come himself, and Conner would probably not let you near him anyway.”

“Yeah, I figured he wouldn’t… I really fucked up this time Arty.”

“hm, I had a feeling you might say that. wanna talk about it while I make pancakes?”

“Do I deserve pancakes right now?”

“Probably not no, but you’re cute so I’ll allow it.”

“I love you.”

“I know. “

And so Wally told her everything, and she listened patiently, without judgement. When he finally finished, she said:

“Well, you were right. You did fucked up pretty bad this time.”

“Yeah…”

“Do you even understand why you did it now?”

“Not really, I can’t wrap my head around it… am I just addicted to chaos or something?”

“Ha! That wouldn’t surprise me! But no, I don’t think that’s it. no Walls, just like me a year ago, you were jealous.”

“W… jealous? Of Conner? “

“Duh.”

“But… why would I be jealous of him?”

“There’s probably a hundred reasons to be jealous of that guy, and I’m not gonna list them cause that’s just gonna make you even more jealous, but mostly, I think you were scared he was going to take Wally away from you. You were scared that Dick was going to invest all his time on him if they ended up really dating, like you did when we started dating. You were scared that Dick might end up loving him so much, even more than you.”

“…ah… that makes sense I guess…”

“It does doesn’t it? plus Conner is already starting to fill some roles you used to take care of. He’s got Dick’s back on mission, he comforts him when he’s feeling down, he randomly hugs him just because he can, showers him in love and affection and does everything in his power to make him smile 24/7. Those are all things you do to. Or used to do, you don’t do it as much since we started dating.”

“… I hadn’t thought about that…”

“Why did you stop? “

“I just… it felt weird, doing it with him when what I did with you was so similar. I just got weirded out to realize that the way my relationship with Dick worked wasn’t so different than the one I had with you when we were dating… what was even weirder is that doing all this with Dick had always felt natural and… I just… I wondered if there was something wrong with me. I didn’t understand why I found it so natural to do this with my best friend. With a boy.”

“Wally… I don’t want to force something out of you you’re not ready to talk about yet, but… don’t you think there might be a reason as to why it didn’t feel weird? Why it might even have felt good to be so affectionate with Dick? “

“I… what are you trying to say?”

“Wally… remember in the beginning of our relationship? When I told you that I liked you, but I needed you to know that I wasn’t exactly straight. And that you said it wouldn’t impact our relationship, as long as I was sure I liked you, it didn’t matter that I could potentially like someone of the same sex?”

“I… I do but…”

“Babe, you know that wouldn’t matter to me either right? If you weren’t completely straight either. “

And just like that, things started getting clearer in Wally’s head.

“I like boys… crap, I do, don’t I? I like boys just as well as girls… I just didn’t want to admit it to myself, even after the two closest people in my life came out to me… I’m such a fucking idiot, I…”

“Hey, no, don’t do that! it’s never easy for anyone to figure themselves out. Plus, I know that you weren’t raised to think it was natural, hell, I wasn’t either, and that can fuck you up pretty bad for a while. The important thing is that now you know, and that it’s okay Wally, it really is. Here, eat this, it will make you feel better.”

He graciously took the plate of pancake she was offering him and started eating, his eyes still filled with tears, and as heartbreaking as it was, it was also kind of adorable. When he finished eating, he ask:

“Hey… do you think maybe, at some point, I might have had a crush on Dick and I didn’t realize?”

Artemis had her back facing him, and so he didn’t see her swallowing hard before she turned to face him and said with a sympathetic smile:

“I think it’s more than likely yes.”

‘And those feelings never left’ was what she wanted to add, but she knew he wasn’t ready to hear that, neither was she ready to let him go yet.

“Oh… well, that does explain a lot… can we… can we keep this between us for now? I don’t think I’m ready to come out yet.”

“Of course, You take all the time you need. Just remember you never need to feel ashamed around me okay? I’ve got you Baywatch.”

“I’m so lucky to have you…”

“Don’t I know it.”

Things got back to normal, he apologized to the newly dating Dick and Conner and they accepted his apology and congratulations. He finally got to see how great of a boyfriend Conner actually was, and if he still felt a small ache in his chest when he saw him and Dick together, well, he just chose to ignore it. A few months later, after graduating high school, Artemis and Wally decided to go to college together and find an apartment for the two of them, as well as to leave the team for the time being. Artemis chose to leave the superhero business altogether, and Wally also considered it, but something in him wasn’t willing to part with this side of his life, and so he decided to just continue fighting crime on a more local basis, and to keep working on his speed. Artemis supported him, knowing this was what made him happy.

The downside of not being on the team anymore was that they saw their friends far less often. While he did try to meet with Dick at least once a week, he still missed him a lot.

Then one day, Dick and Kaldur came to them with the plan to infiltrate the Light, and their lives were thrown into another crazy spiral. Wally had to pretend to mourn Artemis who he knew was very much alive but at the same time was in constant danger, Dick had to lead the team and honestly the tensions were high. They butted heads more than once, but it never got to far thankfully. Wally did, however, force Dick to tell Conner about the plan.

“He deserves to know Dick, he’s your boyfriend.”

“The less people know, the better. He’s safer that way.”

“You know if he learns it from someone else, and too late, your relationship is going to suffer. Don’t do this to yourself Dickie, you know what secrets can do.”

“… fine. Be there when I do it? In case he really does not take it well?”

“Of course.”

And so Dick came clean to Conner, who of course didn’t take it too well, but it only took him a day or two to come around, which would have been far worse if he’d learned it later rather than sooner. Once he’d calm down, he’d come to Wally to thank him.

“Dick told me you were the one to convince him to tell me.”

“Oh, well I just thought you deserved to know. Besides, I know secrets are the worst thing to have in a relationship. It would have been a shame to let this mess break you up.”

Conner looked t him curiously for a moment, half surprised, half admirative.

“You’re a good friend Wally. Thank you for looking out for us.”

“Hey, no problem, that’s my job. Besides, I owe you. I treated you poorly when you started out with Dick, and you didn’t deserve that. You’ve been amazing to him and you make him happy. That’s all I want for him. And he makes you happy too right?”

“Yes, yes he does.”

“Then that’s good enough for me. You should probably get back to him now, I need to go home and pretend I’m mourning my girlfriend’s death.”

“…maybe we could go out, the three of us? You know to the team it would look like we were only trying to cheer you up, but it would actually give us some time to catch up? We haven’t had time to do that in a while.”

“Hm, that’s not a bad idea, but don’t you want some quality time alone with your boyfriend?”

“I can have that some other time. You’re just as important.”

And honestly, had there ever been a more precious being than Conner Kent ? Wally wasn’t sure it was possible.

Going out with the couple wasn’t as awkward as he’d thought it might be. He only felt like he was third wheeling like, ten percent of the time so that was good. Other than that, it was pretty fun. He still had that pang of hurt on the chest sometimes, but he’d ignored it for that long, he could continue to ignore it. running until it caught up to him, so far it had a hard time catching up.

And then the cover mission ended, and they saved the world, and everything changed again. Wally decided to give his Kid Flash mantle to Bart, and to become a Flash of his own. After all, they already had two Flashes, why not three? Besides, he was far too old to keep being called Kid Flash.

To his surprise, Bart chose to be his partner instead of Barry’s. He didn’t understand at first, since Bart was very obviously star struck by his grandfather and thought the world of him, but eventually, he learned about Bart’s past, and how he’d basically raised him, and that suddenly made a lot of sense.

Bart started spending a lot of time at his place. He even got along famously with Artemis, and he couldn’t be happier about that. However, he did look uncomfortable every time Wally referred to her as his girlfriend. Wally thought it might be his imagination, until one day when he casually mentioned marriage. He hadn’t meant anything by it really, he just said something along the lines of ‘Whenever Arty and I get married, no way in hell I’m doing this whole sludge the cake crap, that’s just waste of a perfectly good cake’ as they’d been watching some wedding related tv show .

“What do you mean whenever you get married? Are you planning on proposing?!”

“Well… no but, I mean, it’s bound to happen at one point or another, I mean we’ve been together for years now, we’re basically married already.”

“That’s… oh my God, they were right, you’re hopeless.”

“Huh?”

“Ugh, I really didn’t wanna be the one telling you this but, I really can’t let you keep being an idiot and ruin your life. Walls, you’re not in love with Artemis. “

“W… Of course I do love her!”

“I never said you didn’t. you do love her, you probably love her to the moon and back. But you’re not in love with her. You got a crush on her when you were too young to even comprehend life and you ran with it. She’s your high school sweetheart, but she’s definitely not your future wife.”

“I… you’re talking nonsense.”

“Am I though? Don’t get me wrong, I love Artemis and you should definitely keep her in your life cause she’s the best, but you’ve been lying to yourself long enough. And so has she. Wally you’re in love with Dick, even a blind man could see that. Everyone knows, even Artemis and Conner. And I think deep down, you know it too.”

And just then, it finally caught up to him. An it hurt. It was like all the time he’d felt a small pain seeing Dick with Conner had combined into one huge blow.

“Fuck… I’m in love with my best friend…”

“Welcome to the club pal.”

“I’m gonna have to break up with Arty aren’t I?”

“I don’t want to tell you how to live your life but, basically yeah.”

“Fuck me, why is my life such a mess?”

“Hey, don’t worry, it’ll get better soon I’m sure. You just need to be brave and face things head first for a while. I learned that myself and it turned out pretty okay.”

Being brave. That was the opposite of what Wally had been this whole time. And now things were messier than they’d have been if he had tried to use his brain instead of blocking every thoughts and feelings through the amazing filter that was denial. But no more. He needed to be honest with the people who meant the most to him. And it started with Artemis.

That very night, Wally recounted his all conversation with Bart to her, and to his surprise, she took it with a smile:

“I had a feeling this might happen soon. “

“Wait, you mean you knew?”

“I’ve always known. Why do you think I was so jealous of Dick in the beginning?”

“Oh…Oh! Oh my God I’m so stupid!”

“You can occasionally act like you’re brain dead indeed. But it’s okay Wally, it really is. You never were dishonest with me. You truly thought you loved me that way, and you treated me right. So I don’t want you to feel guilty at all.”

“How can I not when I led you on for so long?”

“You didn’t. if anything, I led myself on. I knew you would figure it out eventually, and I was selfish enough to hope you might not. The saddest part is that I actually don’t have romantic feelings for you anymore either. I just stayed with you because you’re familiar, comfortable. You make me feel safe and I… I just needed something stable like that in my life. “

“I think we’re both a little messed up…”

“Understatement of the century… so. Amicable break up and go back to being friends?”

“I guess… wait what do we do about the apartment?”

“Heh, let’s worry about that later. Unless you cannot stand the sight of me for a day longer of course. But otherwise I think we can just forget about the messy stuff for the night and talk about our awkward crushes instead.”

“oh, well… wait crushes? Aw does my little Arty have a cruuuush?”

“Right, I didn’t tell you about that did I? I kinda have feelings for Zatanna. Strong feelings. Realized it a month ago. I tried to suppress them for your sake but… well I don’t really need to anymore now do I?”

For what seemed like the tenth time that day only, Wally felt really dumb. Now that he thought about it, it was really obvious.

“You should go to her;”

“What? What are you own about Baywatch, we just broke up! I can’t just go to someone else literally five minutes later!”

“Why not? We broke up on good terms, and we’ve established we haven’t had that type of feelings for each other for a long while.”

“Still! I can’t do that!”

“You mean you won’t, because you’re scared. And I understand that, I do. But… Zatanna’s single Arty. She’s single, and she’s always looked at you like you were a goddess among us mere mortals, and I don’t want you to miss an opportunity to be with tomeone who might genuinely love you the way you deserve. I want you to be the happiest woman in the world, and I know Zee can provide that for you if she’s given the chance. You have a chance, so take it. Not all of us are so lucky.”

“Walls… I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“There once was a time when Dick was single too. And I was in the way.”

“You weren’t in the way, I liked you. I dated you because I liked you, and I don’t regret that at all. The rest is on me. “

“But I can’t leave you alone tonight when you just realized so many things about yourself and all of a sudden you don’t have a girlfriend and you’re openly pining for your best friend.”

“I’ll be fine I swear. Just go to her. And don’t feel guilty either got it?”

“…fine. But if you need anything you call me alright?”

“I promise. Now shoo.”

She got up, quickly got dressed and put her shoes on, then came back to the living room to kiss Wally on the cheek.

“I love you idiot, don’t forget that yeah?”

“Love you too Arty.”

And just like that she was gone. And while Wally still felt like crap with all the realizations he’d had, a part of him was happy. Everything was finally starting to make sense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so.... yeah. Wally got there eventually lol. now there's only one thing standing his way in the form of the most perfect boyfriend the world has ever since no big deal lol.  
> Next Chapter: Dick really doesn't want Conner to be right.


	9. Kiss Me Like You Wanna Be Loved (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conner is a (super) trooper and we do not deserve him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi.  
> I cried writing this.  
> Ok that's it bye.  
> oh no ps there are a lot of references to Live And Love in the last part ok that's it enjoy x

Conner was having a pretty chill night, just enjoying solitude in front of a relatively good movie with a lug of hot chocolate, when he heard someone frantically knocking on his door. Perplexed, he decided to go see who it was and was met by his very distressed looking boyfriend.

“Baby? What are you doing here so late? Did something happen?”

“Just… can I come in, please? I need to sit down, I’m losing my mind over here!”

Still confused, Conner stepped back to let Dick enter. He rushed inside, sat down on the couch and started mumbling to himself frantically. Conner looked at him worried, and tried asking:

“Do you need anything? Something to drink maybe…?”

“Do you have something strong like, very strong? Scotch, whisky, rum, anything?”

“uh… I was more thinking of some hot chocolate but…”

“Will the hot chocolate be spiked with alcohol?”

“Uh… no?”

“Too bad. I guess I‘ll take that anyway, thank you.”

Coner’s concern was growing more and more, but he decided that it could wait until he’d made the chocolate, and so he did.

He came back with the mug and gave him to Dick who took it, and he noticed that his hands were trembling ever so slightly.

“So, you’re gonna tell me what’s happening to you?”

“I’m having a mental breakdown.”

“Yeah, I can see that. what happened?”

“I saw Wally .”

“okay? And?”

“Did you know Artemis and Zatanna were dating? Did you even know that Wally and Artemis had broken up? Because I didn’t! I saw Arty and Zee kissing and I totally flipped my shit and she just told me Wally knew and to go talk to him and so I did and he confirmed and what the actual fuck?”

“I… okay that’s a lot of information. How long have they been broken up? “

“I don’t know, a week? Maybe two? Not that long anyway, and I didn’t see how he could be so cool with her dating someone else so quick, but he told me he was the one pushing her to go to Zee and like, what kind of break up is that?”

“I don’t know what to tell you Dickie… what happened after?”

“Well, being the best friend that I am, I offered him comfort or help or just to be there if he wanted to talk but he told me that was probably not a good idea.”

“ah. Why is that?”

“I’m getting there. So asked him why and he told me he couldn’t tell me cause that would mess up everything and I didn’t deserve that and neither did you. So I told him that whatever it was he was hiding I could see it was weighing him down and I didn’t want that for him so whatever it was I could handle it and…”

“…and?”

“And… he told me he was in love with me. Just like that. like, ’I’m in love with you, Dickie’ , no chance of misinterpretation or anything! What the fuck?”

“I see… and what did you do after?”

“Well, I was shocked of course! So I didn’t move for five whole minutes during which he had the time to ramble about how he’d been feeling this way probably forever and only realized earlier that month, that he was pretty sure I was it for him and he’d never love anyone as deeply and purely and that he knew he didn’t stand a chance but that he thought I should know, so there wasn’t any secrets between us, because even though he hadn’t known he’d been carrying this secret with him this whole time, he’d made me suffer more than once just because he didn’t understand his feelings and… and every word that came out of his mouth just made me panic even more, I just couldn’t take it… so I just… I told him I needed to see you, and I left.”

“Oh Dickie…”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Conner I just.. I didn’t know this would happen, I….”

“I knew.”

“I… I beg your pardon?”

“I knew it was bound to happen. I knew Wally was in love with you pretty much the moment I met you two. It was only a matter of time until he realized it too.”

“How… but…”

“It’s okay Dickie, it was always supposed to happen. Now all that’s left for you to decide is what you’re going to do about it.”

“What do you mean what I’m gonna do about it? I’m not gonna do anything about it! I don’t know if you’re aware but, I actually have a boyfriend!”

“yeah but… it’s Wally.”

“So? You’re Conner.”

Conner sighed, and took Dick’s still trembling hand in his.

“Baby, you know how much I care about you. And you know I love being with you and I wouldn’t trade our time together for anything. But we gotta be honest with each other there. I was never going to be the one you’d end up with. We’re not endgame, I always knew that.”

“But we could be! Kon I… you’re all I need, I don’t need anything else. “

“I don’t know if I’m all that you need, but I do know I’m not all that you want. Sure, we could pretend Wally doesn’t exist. We could stay together and pretend you’re madly in love with me. We could continue the way we’ve been going all this time. But in a week, a month or a year, you’ll start feeling regrets. You’ll start thinking, ‘what if? What if I’d just told Wally how I felt, what if I had chosen him?’ and who knows what might happen then? Maybe it won’t be too late and we’ll end up breaking up anyway, or maybe will have moved on and we’ll end up staying together out of spite. And you’ll start feeling guilty and resent yourself, and I’ll see you’re not happy and start resenting myself, and then we’ll end up resenting each other. And we don’t want that. we’re worth more than that. what we had is too good to be tainted like that.”

Dick looked at him silently, his eyes full of sorrow and fear and tears, before saying in a choked up voice:

“I wish you were wrong… I want you to be wrong…”

“But I’m not.”

“No you’re not… I really tried you know? To fall for you. It should have been easy, you’re so perfect, but…”

“But it’s Wally. It’s always been Wally. I get it. Maybe one day, I’ll find the one person that will be like that for me. Hopefully it wasn’t you.”

“I truly hope it wasn’t me… cause I really want you to have everything and anything Kon… you gave me so much love when I needed it the most, you’ve reminded me what it felt like to have someone who cared for you no matter the time, no matter how great the need… I just hope I was able to make you at least a tenth as happy as you made me.”

“You made me the happiest. I did promise you to tell you if you ever stopped making me happy didn’t I? And that never happened. So you can let your guilt go, you’ve been amazing Dickie.”

Dick couldn’t help but sob at that, and Conner just took him in his arms like he’d always done, letting him cry on his chest. When he calmed down a bit, he asked in a timid voice:

“Can I have one last kiss? Just so we don’t end on a bad note?”

Conner didn’t say anything and just kissed him. And it was just like the first time, just as amazing, just as exhilarating. The kind of kiss that anyone would be content to have for the rest of their lives, so why couldn’t Dick? He still gave all he had into this kiss, all that he’d felt for Conner despite it all, because he wanted him to know, he wanted him to feel it, how much he’d cared.

And Conner did.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

After that night, Dick went MIA for a while. No one knew where he could have went, well, safe for Jason who actually had arranged for his brother to stay at one of his safe houses without telling anyone, knowing he needed time alone.

Wally felt like the worst human being possible after hearing of Dick and Conner’s break up. He’d never intended for that to happen. He just felt like he owed the truth to Dick, but if he had known...

He’d just gone to the Watchtower to drop a report on a mission, when he saw Conner in the corner of a room. he tried to go without him noticing him, but failed. Conner called on him:

“Wally, do you have a minute? I think we need to talk.”

Wally stopped on his tracks and sighed deeply. He owed him that much after all.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Great, let’s go out, I’m treating you .”

“fine…”

They ended up at a small coffee shop where they sat in silence for a while while drinking, until Conner started:

“I’m not mad at you, you know?”

“You… you’re not?”

“No. if anyone should be mad, it’s you.”

“Why would I be mad at you? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I knew you loved Dick, and I still allowed myself to fall for him and to date him.”

“Wait… have you been feeling guilty about that all this long?”

“A bit, yeah…”

“I can’t believe… Sweet Jesus Superboy, how selfless can you be?”

Conner just shrugged, and Wally followed:

“You don’t have anything to feel guilty about. I didn’t even know I was in love with him! Plus, he was miserable for a long time until you started showing him affection. And ever since you guys started dating he’s been glowing , you’ve just made his life so much better and I could never thank you enough for that. so don’t feel guilty just because it’s you he fell for.”

“He didn’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“You said it’s me he fell for. It’s not. He liked me a lot, he probably would have ended up loving me that way in other circumstances, but it was never gonna happen. not when you existed.”

“What… you can’t mean…”

“He’s in love with you, Walls. It’s always been you. Ever since you both were stupid kids that barely knew what love was, he just set his eyes on you and never looked back. That kind of bond that you have, it’s unbreakable. I knew what I was getting myself into when it started and I still went head first anyway. I only have myself to blame for getting burned. “

“Kon…”

“You know I never told him I loved him? That’s the one thing I couldn’t do. Because I knew he wouldn’t be able to say it back, or that he wouldn’t mean it that way. So I didn’t say it, not once. But he deserves to hear he’s loved, every day even. So please, never forget to tell him.”

“I…I won’t, I promise…. Will you be alright?”

Conner let out a sad little chuckle.

“Not gonna lie, I’m kind of heart broken. But at the same time, I’m happy. I’m happy because despite it all, I haven’t lost neither Dick nor you. I didn’t lose two of my best friends, and that’s all that matters really.”

“You’ll never lose either of us, I promise you that. you… you’re such a gem, I wish you could realize that. and fuck it I was so jealous of you, so many times, because you’re probably the greatest guy to ever walk this Earth and I’m just me and I honestly don’t know how I could ever compete against you and let alone why Dick would choose me over you, that just doesn’t compute in my brain…”

“Simple, you’re Wally.”

“I…what?”

“You’re Wally. No matter what happens, no matter who stand in your way, you’re Wally, and that’s all that matters, all that will ever matter to Dick. Don’t question it, don’t try to understand what he sees in you, just know that he sees what he loves. All you gotta do now is make sure you make him the happiest man alive, or I’m coming after you. And if you think having the whole Batfam against you is bad enough, I’ll just have you know Jason and I are very close and we make a great team.”

“… That’s the single scariest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

“That was the goal. Speaking of Jason, he probably knows where Dick is hiding. You should go talk to him, tell him I sent you and that I’m okay with this. “

“Are you really though?”

“I am. I need you two to get together; it’s been longer than a decade, that’s far too long of a slow burn. So just go already, and make me proud son.”

“Not my dad! But still, I will. Thank you Conner. Love you.”

“Yeah, love you too I guess idiot. Now go”

Wally gave him a salute and left. Conner just smiled a little before finishing his drink, then he got his phone out and looked at the lock screen: a picture of Dick smiling at him he’d taken a year ago. That’s what he wanted to remember, right now: only the happy moments.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

It didn’t take long for Wally to find Jason, and after explaining the whole situation with Conner and being threatened with torture, maiming and every kind of pain inducing means existing, Wally finally got Jason to tell him where Dick was hiding.

And so Wally ran. He ran and for the first time in a long time, he wasn’t running away, but running towards. He didn’t fear that his feelings would catch up to him; they were accompanying him this very moment.

_It was actually a good thing that he was running right now. Running always helped him clear his head and calm his nerves. And boy was he nervous right now. His head was clouded with so many emotion that he hadn’t yet had time to try and comprehend. He was happy of course, ecstatic even. He had forgotten what love felt like, perhaps he never really knew until he allowed himself to see he was in love with his best friend. But he was also scared. So afraid that he was going to mess up somehow, like he did so often. He couldn’t screw up with Dick. He couldn’t allow himself to destroy the best thing in his life.*_

But a voice inside him, a voice he didn’t hear often, told him that he wouldn’t. that everything would be just fine, because they were Wally and Dick, and that was enough.

He finally got in front of the safe house, and took a deep breath before knowking at the door. Dick opened it and there he was, facing him, so breathtaking and ethereal , the most beautiful human Wally had ever seen. Quick, he needed to think of something to say.

“Uuuuuuh….’Sup?”

So. That was a fail.

Dick just looked at him incredulously and with just a dash of amusement.

“Really? You’ve come all this way just say that Wally? That’s really what you’ve spent half an hour being threatened by Jason for?”

“Well, I… wait, hold on, how do you know about that?”

Dick shrugged.

“Jay sent me a text as soon as he saw you coming to him. he knew he would end up giving you the address anyway, but wanted to give me a chance to escape if I wanted to.”

“And… you didn’t?”

“No,” Dick answered simply, “I’m tired of hiding. “

He took Wally by the hand to take him inside and sat them both on the couch before continuing.

“I’ve done nothing but hide my feelings for you ever since I discovered them. And that’s exhausting . so I won’t do it anymore, I won’t hide my feelings, and I certainly won’t hide from you.”

“oh… that’s good. Great even cause well, I’m not really good at hide and seek. And also, I’m not planning on hiding anything either.”

“That’s good. Just… Jay said you talked to Conner?”

“Oh… yeah. He’s the one who convinced me to come.”

“Figures… he still takes care of me even now that he doesn’t have to… how was he? Was he… alright?”

“He… I think he’s going to be fine. He’s not there yet but… he’s gonna pull through it.”

“I hope so… I never should have dragged him into this whole mess.”

“You needed to be loved, and he wanted to love you. No one will fault you for that. especially not Kon.”

“I know… so… you’re ready to love me too , now?”

“I think I was always ready and just didn’t know yet. I just hope it’s not too late…”

“Never. You’ll always be just on time. You know, no matter how much I’ve hurt before, one thing’s for sure: loving you is the best feeling in the world. At least I’ve never felt anything better. “

Wally bit back the tears that were threatening to fall down. He couldn’t be crying right now. He scooted closer to Dick, before taking his hand in both of his and replying:

“Well, if loving me felt so great, imagine how dating me is gonna feel.”

And without any more warning, he kissed him with as much passion as he could muster, trying to make up for all the years when he had unknowingly hurt and frustrated him by not reciprocating his feelings. He wanted this kiss to be a promise, a vow that this first kiss between them would be the last first kiss Wally would ever have. Dick kissed back just as passionately, and neither of them wanted to stop.

When they did, Dick just thought to himself that this, this was what he could content himself with for the rest of his life. Conner had been an amazing kisser, but there was something about kissing Wally that Dick couldn’t describe, there was just no word for it, it was just… right. It was the thing that he’d craved and missed all those years without even knowing. It was Wally.

“You know, I used to dream about you confessing to me,” Dick suddenly said, “and it always ended with me in tears. But I somehow, I don’t feel like crying right now? I just feel like kissing you again and again.”

“Then do it. as long as you want.”

And so he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .... WHY? WHY DID I HAVE TO PUT DICK AND KON TOGETHER? I AM NOW HEARTBROKEN AND I FEEL LIKE I LOST A CHILD!  
> Anyway RIP Superdickie you will be missed but on another note yaaaay Birdflash is back!   
> I can't wait to make Conner happy again though. cause like, that shit hurt bro.   
> Next Chapter: Damian is back and he's recieving all the love he deserves


	10. Damian And The Feeling Of Belonging (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian shows up and inadvertantly makes everything better for everyone just by existing (surprising, I know)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol tbh I don't know what happened. it was supposed to be a chapter where Damian was being pampered and loved by everyone and he ended up just... being actually helpful and the best brother? like wtf he was supposed to be a murder baby  
> Also this is another two parter because well... you'll see  
> Anyway here you go

When Damian left Nanda Parbat to go live with his father in Gotham, he really thought he would have to fight to secure his place as his father’s one and only heir. After all, it wasn’t a secret that Bruce Wayne couldn’t stop adopting every stray he encountered, and there was no way Damian was going to let any of them steal what was rightfully his, his legacy.

So he’d decided pretty early on that all of his father’s wards were his enemies, and he did everything in his power to show it. but somehow, no matter how nasty he was with them, they’d always answer with patience, kindness and affection. Especially Grayson. He would insult him and the idiot would just pat his head and say ‘You’re such a brat Dami I swear’ with a big smile.

So, to say that his plan wasn’t exactly working was pretty correct. He was left confused most of the time, and soon enough he didn’t even feel like being nasty anymore, so he would mostly try to ignore them. But that didn’t work either, because both Grayson and Drake seemed determined to force their way into his life.

He wasn’t used to have that kind of attention directed to him. the kind where people would want to take care of him and be there for him for no ulterior motive. Everyone he’d known on the island, his mother, his grandfather, the whole League of Assassins, they’d all been wanting something from him. they were grooming him to becoming Ra’s Al Ghul’s heir, to help them achieve their goals. At first, he’d thought it was an honor, and his duty. But since coming to Gotham, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Grayson and Drake never asked anything of him, and they never expected for him to be anything but himself. Which would have been great if he had any idea who he was . he really wanted to keep hating them, really he did. But it was hard to do when they were the first to treat him like a human.

So he stopped fighting them. He , reluctantly at first, started accepting their company, and soon enough, he was looking forward to the moments he’d spend with them, not that he’d ever tell them.

Then Todd entered the picture. He’d been aware of the second Robin’s resurrection of course, he’d resurface only a month or two before Damian had arrived in Gotham. But since he seemed heel bent on avoiding the Manor at all cost, he hadn’t had to meet him and didn’t plan to. He didn’t even care to learn anything about him, at first. But one day, as he was training with Grayson, he noticed he wasn’t as focused as he should have been. He told him as such, and he answered:

“Right, sorry Dami, I just have my mind elsewhere right now.”

“Well get it back right here, it’s unprofessional to be unfocused, it could get you killed on the field!”

“Anw are you worried about me?”

“Nonsense! I’m just saying you could be a liability. What’s gotten into you anyway?”

“It’s nothing, just… family stuff.”

“Am I not family?”

“w… of course you are Damian!”

“Then you can tell me about it, can’t you?”

“I… I didn’t think you’d want to hear about it.”

“You were wrong. Tell me.”

“right… basically I’m just worried about Jason.”

“Oh, I see. What has he done this time?”

“That’s the thing, I don’t know. I haven’t seen him once since he came back, well safe for the time we fought and I didn’t even know it was him yet. I know that he’s gone to Jaime at some point, and that he’s met with Tim, but he still hasn’t reached out to me and I just want to check that he’s okay and be there for him…”

“Why don’t you go look for him then?”

“Cause he’d hate that. Knowing him he will probably think Bruce is sending me and then he’ll hate me even more than he already does. “

“Why would he hate you?” Damian was confused. Grayson seemed to have a great deal of affection for his little brother. so why would he hate him in return?

“I don’t know, maybe he blames me for taking Bruce’s side, for not avenging his death, for making sure Tim became Robin after him, I don’t know .”

“So you’re just assuming he hates you based on nothing but speculations? That’s stupid.”

“Yeah, well, he didn’t try to reach out did he? So he probably hates me.”

“Or he’s just ashamed. That’s also a possibility.”

“He has nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Maybe,but he might not see things that way. You should try to find him, if not seeing him is making you this sad. “

“I can’t do that…”

“Then I’ll find him for you. I’ll find him and I’ll bring him home even if I have to drag him by force. He’ll tell you himself he doesn’t actually hate you. He can’t hate you, that would be idiotic of him. “

“Damian…”

Grayson looked at him with a gaze he couldn’t realy comprehend.

“You’d do that for me? Just because I’m sad?”

“Of course. Why is it so surprising?”

“You’re alwys saying you can’t stand me.”

“That’s true. You’re very annoying. But according to Alfred, that’s how siblings work. They annoy each other, but they’re also always there if the other needs them. So since we’re brothers, I have to help you .”

“You don’t HAVE to do anything Dami…”

“…No, you’re right. I didn’t say that correctly. I don’t have to, but I want to. Because you… you’re always taking care of me, you and Drake, and you’ve never asked me for anything in return. And… I know I’m not the nicest person to be around, and I’m always insulting you and treating you like I don’t care about you but…”

“But you do. I get it, don’t worry. Thank you Dami, you’re a great brother you know that right?”

Damian didn’t answer, just nodded slowly, not really knowing what to say. Grayson smiled at him and hugged him despite his protest.

“Come on, let’s get out of here. I’ll call Tim and we’ll go to the movies. We haven’t taken you out in too long; you spend too much time home for it to be healthy.”

Damian sighed but still followed him.

He followed through on his promise a few days later and tracked down Todd. It wasn’t hard really, since he knew Drake was in contact with him, he just had to spy on him. Soon, he’d learned Todd’s current address, and he waited until no one was paying attention to him to sneak out of the manor to go pay him a visit.

He arrived in front of the door and considered breaking an entering, before deciding it was probably smarter to just knock, so he did. However, it wasn’t Todd who came to open the door. Instead, he was met with a tall, redhead man who just looked at him with a frown while he looked back with bored scowl on his face, before the redhead shouted :

“Jay! There’s some kid at the door, what do I do?”

“I don’t know, as far as I know it’s not mine!” Todd’s voice answered from inside.

Damian rolled his eyes at their rudeness, before clearing his throat.

“Excuse me, but I’m here to see Jason Todd.”

“Are you now? And who might you be?”

“Obviously his son from the future, don’t see the resemblance?” Damian decided to respond with sarcasm, sick of this guy’s attitude.

“Okay, I’m like seventy percent sure you’re kidding, but with what I know about time travel, there’s stilla possibility and that scares me.”

“I am kidding. I’m Damian Wayne, pleasure to meet you.”

The redhead’s jaw just dropped at that, and then he was looking him up and down, scrutinizing his every trait.

“Fuck, you’re telling the truth. Oh God. Jay! The kid is Damian!”

“What?!”

In a matter of seconds, Jason had rushed to the door and pushed his way in front of Damian.

“What the… what are you doing here? “

“I came to talk to you.”

“you… You don’t even know me yet! That doesn’t even make sense! How did you even find me?”

“I have my ways. Listen, can I come in? it’s not comfortable to talk at the door like that.”

“I… fine I guess, come on in. I’ll go get you something to drink just a sec. Roy keep an eye on him.”

Both of his guests looked at him offended, Damian because he was tired of being treated like a baby, and Roy because he was in no way a baby sitter. They sat down on the couch, and Roy turned to Damian to say:

“By the way, my name’s Roy Harper, nice to meet you. I’m a friend of both Dick and Jason.”

“I see. Yes I remember hearing your name here and there. You’re Red Arrow, right?”

“That’s me. You’re so small.”

“Excuse you, I’m perfectly sized for my age thank you very much! “

“A whole infant, I can’t believe it.”

Damian was about to protest, but Jason came back at that point and handed him a drink.

“Here you go kiddo. Now, will you tell me what you’re doing here?”

“I want to talk to you about Grayson.”

Jason looked at him dumbfounded.

“Why would you… Did Dickiebird put you up to it?”

“No, I chose to do so myself. “

“… right. And what do you want to tell me about our dear brother?”

“So you do still consider him your brother. good to know. “

“Why do I feel like you’re sassing me?”

“He’s definitely sassing you,” Roy said helpfully, “And I can’t really blame him.”

“Shut up Harper. So , what’s wrong with Dick?”

“He’s worried about you, because someone decided not to have any contact with him. now he’s miserable and it’s your fault, so I came here so either you would decide to fix it yourself, or I’d kidnap you and force you to do it.” he added that last part nonchalantly while looking at his nails.

Jason just stared at him incredulously while Roy just laughed.

“Fuck me that kid is awesome. Hey kid, you’re my new spiritual son.”

“I already have a father thank you very much.”

“I’ll fight Batman for you, just you wait. “

“So you’re telling me,” Jason interrupted, not paying attention to Roy’s antic, “That ypu tracked me down, found out where I lived and came all this way, just because Dickiebird was sad?”

“Basically, yes, that is what I’m saying.”

“You… damn… you always did have a soft spot for him after all…”

“You’re not making any sense. So, are you going to do something about it or not?”

“Of course he is!” Roy said happily as Jason glared at him, “Don’t look at me like that Jay, I’ve been telling you to talk to Dick for months now, it’s about time you stopped acting like a child!”

“Don’’ I have my say in this?”

“No,” both of his guests answered at the same time.

Jason sighed deeply.

“Fine then. I’ll go see Dick tomorrow, happy?”

“Very much so. You better not do anything to hurt him, I’m not above sending you back to your grave you know?”

“Understood kiddo, I’ll try not to,” he said in an amused tone.

“Great. Well that gentlemen, that was fun, but I have to go now.”

“Wait! You don’t want to stay for a while? “Jason asked.

“Why would I do that?” Damian answered, confused.

Jason looked hesitant, not really knowing what to say, so Roy intervened.

“Well, you’re basically brothers too. Jason here wants to get to know you.”

“Oh… wait really?”

Jason shrugged then nodded. Damian frowned a bit, trying to wrap his head around this.

“Well, I guess I can stay for an hour or two.”

And that’s how he ended up spending the evening with Jason Todd and Roy Harper. He didn’t know that it was only the first of many yet.

Jason did keep his promise and went to Dick the following day. Things took a while to get mostly back to normal, but they did, and Damian now not only had two brothers constantly pestering him and showering him with affection, but three. He still didn’t understand them most of the time, but he was starting to accept that their love was unconditional and that he didn’t need to earn it and to just be grateful for it.

In the end, it was Tim who told him about the whole time travel deal. That had been quite a shock, he’d had to admit.

“So you’re telling me that at some point, a version of me from the future came back in time with a speedster who’s since become one of your best friends, and that we saved all of your lives together, and that I’m the reason you and our brothers even met in the first place?”

“Yup.”

“… Ok then.”

“Ok? You’re accepting it so easily?”

“Not really. It’s making my mind completely explode actually. But in a way I’ve heard crazier things.”

“huh. You’re full of surprises little brother. so. Do you want to meet Bart? Oh and also Jaime, he’s been dying to see you ever since you arrived but he didn’t want to overwhelm you. “

Damian was nervous. Now that he knew people would probably have expectations for him to be like his older version, he didn’t know how to handle himself. But he figured, if he didn’t manage to disappoint his brothers yet, he must be doing something right.

“… okay, let’s go meet your friends. “

They got to the apartment Tim, Jaime and Bart had just started living in that very week. As soon as he opened the door, Tim shouted:

“Honeys, I’m home! “

“Oh hi Timmy,” answered who Damian guessed was Jaime as he was getting out of the kitchen, “Bart’s just gone to the bakery, he should be back in a f…”

“don’t say it! God you’re getting as bad as him!”

“Love does that to you. Oh but you’re not alone! Hi Damian! It’s very nice to meet you! I’m Jaime.”

Damian warily took the hand that Jaime was offering to shake.

“Nice to meet you too I guess… for the first time… “

Jaime gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Timmy just told you about other you didn’t he? You don’t have to worry, I won’t be expecting you to be like your older counterpart, that would be stupid of me. I’m just genuinely happy to meet you, this version of me, because you’re my best friends’ brother and I’ve heard so much about you. “

“Oh… well… I heard a lot about you too. Tim and Jason really care about you a lot.”

“Of course they do,” he said fondly, “they’d be lost without me. I’ll have to tell you stories sometimes, I’m sure you’ll like them.”

Damian felt himself smile ever so slightly.

“I’d be happy to hear them.”

Jaime smiled back brightly. Just about then, Bart came barging in at full speed and stopped right in front of his boyfriend to kiss him.

“I’m back!”

“I can see that baby. Where’s the bread?”

“The bread? What bread? Oooooh right I went to buy bread! I forgot. You see there was this puppy and I kinda got distracted.”

Jaime and Tim both rolled their eyes fondly.

“Of course our puppy would get distracted by one of his paw brothers. “ Tim snorted.

“Oh hey Tim, you’re back! “ Bart exclaimed as he came to hug him, “And, you brought… “

Bart and Damian’s eyes met, and it was clear neither of them knew what to make of the situation. Damian decided to break the silence.

“Yeah so uh… Hi I guess. Damian but I’m sure you already know that. And… apparently we’re destined to be friends or something so… nice to meet you friend?”

“awwww! He’s adorable! I love him! I love you, please never grow up I’m gonna die of sadness!”

And just like that, Damian was being smothered to death by Bart and, after the initial shock; he found out that he didn’t really mind. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he could trust Bart, and not just because of what he’d learned about the future. There was just something about him. They were so different, that was for sure, he was so open and bright when Damian was more inclined to shut anyone who wasn’t family out. But somehow, they were also very similar. They both had had expectations thrown at them from a very young age, a duty, a destiny. And they both had to leave everything they knew in order to find what they really needed in life: a family who cared about them.

At that moment, he thought that the other him had made the best decision, keeping that guy close. And he wasn’t about to not follow his example.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>><><><>

While in the Manor, Damian didn’t meet a lot of people. There wasn’t that many people coming and going. Even his brothers didn’t live here anymore after all. But sometimes, when Dick was there, he’d bring his boyfriend along.

Damian had been pretty uninterested by Conner Kent at first, but then again, he often was with new people, when he didn’t straight up hate them. But at least he didn’t seem to be annoying, and he didn’t try to insert himself into his life by force or to suck up to him just because he was Dick’s brother, so there was that.

Soon, he started having casual conversations with him here and there, and started to understand what seemed to be so likeable about him. He had this calming aura somehow, when everyone around Damian seemed to just never stop talking and moving and and never stayed still for a second, sitting down in front of someone like Conner who could have calm conversations as well as just stay in comfortable silence without it becoming awkward was actually refreshing.

So yeah, he actually started appreciating his brother’s boyfriend, and wouldn’t be against having a chat with him from time to time. But that didn’t mean he was okay with him deciding he needed to kidnap him all of a sudden.

3what do you mean we’re going out? I’m perfectly fine staying home thank you very much.”

“You know it’s not normal for a kid your age to stay that much at home?”

“I’m not like other kids. “

“You’re still a kid nonetheless. Besides, your father already agreed o you can’t really do anything about this.”

And honestly, that was the worst betrayal he’d ever been a victim of.

“Where do you even want to take me?”

“I want you to meet someone. I’m sure you’re gonna get along with him just fine. “

“Who is he?”

“My Brother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeaaaah Damian just decided he was gonna save this cursed family if it's the last thing he does . Jason is already completely whipped and I love it. Also I added Roy because at first he was supposed to be the one to bring Dick and Jason together again but it didn't happen but I thought hee deserved to be there anyway. Also I love him and want him to fight Bruce for Damian.  
> Next Chapter: Jonnie Boiiiiiiii


	11. Wont Let Nobody Hurt You (I'll Stand By You) (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically, Conner getting to be the Big Brother he was always meant to become, ft the Superfamily, and Damian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey hey!  
> So, this chapter was not supposed to go like this. but tbh I kinda like the result  
> Here you go, Enjoy! x

A few days after Future Bart and Damian had left, Conner had decided he really needed to know about this supposed brother of his. So he started digging, and found out that, indeed, Superman had a son. A three year old, adorable son that Conner just had to meet. But he didn’t know how to approach Superman – Clark, he always had to correct himself – without it being awkward. While they weren’t at each other’s throat anymore, they were still walking on thin ice with their relationship. So he decided to do the next best thing and contacted Lois Lane instead. He just send her an email explaining he just wanted to find out about his blood relatives, that he’d understand if she wasn’t comfortable with the idea of him being part of her family but if by any chance she was interested in meeting, he was available whenever it suited her. He knew she was a very busy women, so he didn’t expect a quick answer, if at all.

She answered only half an hour later, and to tell him she would love to meet up as soon as possible.

He met her the very next day, and to say he was nervous was an understatement, but she quickly eased his worry with her kind smile and soft tone. She told him she had been trying to make Clark see reason and try to have him organize a meeting for months now, but the man was stubborn (at least Conner knew where he got that from). She then asked him a ton of questions about himself, his life with the team, and even (most embarrassingly from him) his (at the time nonexistent) love life. He just answered as best as he could, eager to please and happy to see that she seemed to genuinely care about what he had to say.

After that first meeting, it took a while for them to be able to see each other again, both of them being really busy, but they kept emailing and texting. Then one day, out of the blue, she had an emergency at work and couldn’t hire a baby sitter for Jon due to his powers which had just started developing. Clark being on a mission in space with the League, she didn’t know who else to turn to but Conner who readily accepted and rushed to Metropolis.

He couldn’t believe he was going to meet his brother for the first time. Sure, Lois had sent pictures, tons of pictures, and videos too, but this wasn’t enough.

He arrived at the Kent Residence, and and as soon as Lois saw him, she looked at him as if he was the second coming of Jesus.

“Oh thank God! You are literally saving my life right now Conner, you have no idea! Come on in, I’ll introduce you to Jonnie!”

He followed her inside, giddy with anticipation as she took him to the living room where Jon was sitting on the floor playing with a plushie. When he saw his mom enter, he looked up at her and the unknown man who looked like his dada behind her with a curious look.

“Jonnie, you know that mommy has got to go to work soon? Well, I found you a nice friend to take care of you and play with you while I’m away. His name is Conner, do you want to come say hi?”

Jon got up and started shyly advancing towards Lois and Conner, holding his plushie tightly against his chest. He stopped in front of Conner and asked timidly, with his big doe eyes full of hope:

“Will you push me on the swings?”

Conner felt absolutely attacked by the level of adorableness in front of him, and he thought his heart might give in.

“Of course kiddo, anything you want.”

Jon smiled as bright as the sun and turned to his mom to say:

“Okay, he’s good, we can keep him!”

“Is that so?” she responded amused, “Well you heard him Conner, you’re apparently hired! I have to go now, but you boys have fun!”

She kissed her son goodbye, than gave Conner a quick hug thanking him again and left in a haste.

Conner then focused his attention on the little angel in front of him who just handed him his plushie and said:

“this is Bobby, say hi Bobby! Bobby likes you so so much!”

“That’s nice, I like Bobby so so much too. What were you and Bobby talking about before?”

“About when I’m big like my daddy! I want to be a fireman so I can have a big red truck and save kittens from trees! I’m sad when the kittens are stuck…” he added with a cute frown.

“I’m sure all the kittens will be very glad to have you to save them. You’re very nice to think of them.”

“Thanks! I love kittens, they’re so soft! I like puppies too! Daddy says I can have a puppy when I’m bigger if I take care of him and go on walks and stuff!”

“You really like animals don’t you kiddo?”

“Yeah! They’re so nice! Do you like animals to? Do you have a puppy or a kitten? “

“I have a kind of puppy yes. He’s actually a wolf.”

“Wah! That’s so cool! What’s his name?”

“Wolf.”

“Wolf the wolf? That’s silly!” Jon started giggling and Conner couldn’t help but smile fondly.

“Yeah, I’m a silly guy sometimes.”

“It’s good to be silly sometimes I think. One day, can I meet Wolf and give him lots of hugs?”

“Sure, why not? He’ll probably love you , he loves cute people like you.”

“Yay! Thank you thank you thank you!” he shouted while launching himself into Conner’s arms to hug him. Conner chuckled and hugged him back.

They spent the rest of the day playing with Bobby, going to the nearby park to use the swings and talking about everything and anything Jon had going on in his mind at the moment, which was a very changing conversation as he was a very bright kid with a lot of ideas. Conner would never have thought he could connect so easily with such a small child, and yet it had only been a few hours and he was already completely smitten and ready to give up his whole life for Jon.

As the evening rolled around and Conner had just finished preparing the meal for the night and serving it to Jon, he heard the front door open. Thinking it was probably Lois coming back, although it was earlier than what she’d told him, he just turned around to greet her and instead just found Clark facing him. he couldn’t tell you who looked more shocked between the two of them. Things were deathly silent, until Jon noticed his father and just got down his chair to run to him.

“Daddy! You’re back! Yay!”

Clark got out of his daze to lift up his son above his head while he giggled and then hugged him.

“Hiya squirt, did you miss me?”

“Yes! So so much! But I was very good like you told me and I didn’t make any trouble for mommy!”

“I’m proud of you darling. Speaking of your mom, where is she?”

“She said she had a very important work thingy so she left! But she found me a friend to play! Conner is the best! We had the best day! He’s so nice!”

“I see,” Clark said while looking at Conner who put his head down and started scratching the back of his neck. “Well Conner, would you mind making sure he finishes eating while I go change?”

Conner shook the surprise away to say a bit stuttering:

“O… of course, no problem.”

“Thanks,” he said with an awkward clap on Conner’s shoulder “I’ll be back in a few.”

Conner tried to gain back his composure as he refocused on his task and made sure Jon ate his whole plate. Clark then came back and proceeded to take care of Jon’s bath and to put him to sleep, telling Conner not to go wait and to wait for him, as well as to help himself with anything he fancied in the kitchen. Conner just waited nervously for hi to come back, and time had never seemed to go this slow to him before. He briefly wondered if that was how Wally felt every day.

Clark finally came back forty-five minutes later and sat on the chair opposite to Conner, before casually saying:

“So. Lois called you then?”

“Oh um… yeah. She was in a real bind and I was available so…”

“I see. That was really nice of you. Jon seems to absolutely adore you. “

“Oh… well… he’s a great kid and I loved spending time with him.”

“I’m glad to hear that. listen, I haven’t been fair to you. I told you I’d make an effort, and I just disappeared on you again. Truth is, I was really clueless as to what I needed to be for you. I know how to parent a three year old, barely, but I can manage. But a teenager? Almost an adult? That’s another story altogether.”

“I… I’m not really looking for you to take care of me or anything, I can take care of myself. I have so far. I just wish… well, all I really wanted was to feel like I had a family, that I belonged somewhere. And I understand if you don’t feel like my place is in yours but… well… that’s the only option I had so I had to try…. Sorry for going to Lois behind your back, I just felt like I couldn’t give up without even trying you know?”

“You have nothing to apologize for. And this wasn’t exactly behind my back. Lois told me about your meeting as soon as it happened. She couldn’t stop gushing about how great you were and that I should really try and give you a chance. And of course she was right, she almost always is. So if it’s not too late, I would like to try and get to know you.”

“I think I’d like that too,” Conner answered with a tentative smile.

The next few months, he spent a lot of nights at the Kents for dinner, lunch, or more baby sitting Jon which was quickly becoming his favorite thing to do. He also got along like a house on fire with Lois and was learning a lot from her, and his relationship with Clark, while still awkward at times, was only getting better and better.

At some point, Clark even took him to Smallville to introduce him to his adoptive parents, and ‘Ma and ‘Pa Kent embraced him as one of their own almost instantly. He helped Jonathan take care of the farm and he let Martha take him to the market where she introduced him as his grandson to everyone they’d met, hanging onto his arm and parading him around like he was a great pride in her eyes. Honestly, he was really close to just move in with them and become a farmer, it seemed like a far less stressful life.

His life continued on this uphill climb as the years went by and he got to watch Jon grow and to be a big presence in his life.

He was there when he lost his first baby tooth, when he learned how to ride a bike without the training wheels, when he went to school for the first time. After the first year, he wasn’t called aa baby sitter anymore, he was fully known as his big brother, and both boys couldn’t be happier about that. Conner even got to introduce Dick to him when they started dating, and Jon was completely enamored with him, which was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.

It had felt good, to be able to share something like this with Dick, who’d always gush about his own brothers. He was happy he could do the same, talk about family, be proud of being a part of one.

Of course, with him making sure he was always available for Jon, his little brother became really reliable on him especially since he seemed to have a hard time making friends with people his age it seemed, which Conner didn’t really understand. After all, he didn’t think there could ever exist a kinder soul than his Jonnie’s. But because of this, and the loneliness he felt, Jon saw his moments with Conner as the most precious thing he had and treasured them. He’d never ask for more than what Conner was willing to give him (not realizing that Conner would drop anything at any time for him.) but Conner could see how sad he got every time it was time for him to go, and that broke his heart. He wished he could do something more for his little brother, but he knew that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t be there for him at all times, and he couldn’t feel every role in his life. He had to find a way for him to meet new people and have real friends.

In those moments, he would think about Damian and how the older version of him had looked when he’d talk about Jon. He knew that Damian would probably be the only person alive who would cherish Jon just as much as his parents or Conner did, if not even more. But Damian was still nowhere to be found, and he didn’t know when he’d ever show up.

So he did his best to try and help Jon be more confident and at ease with other kids. For a while it seemed to work. He still didn’t have a lot of friends, but he was friendly enough with his classmates sohe could feel less alone .

He kept growing up as a happy child, surrounded by love and care, because that was all he deserved. Around the time of his tenth birthday, Damian finally showed up, but Conner quickly decided it was too soon for them to meet. Kid Damian was far less open to people than his counterpart had been, that was for certain. Conner eventually found a way to tear through his walls though, and to earn his trust, and that was good enough for now. Or so he thought.

One day, Jon ran away from home, without a warning, just like that. Of course, at soon as it happened, Lois and Clark had called Conner worried sick asking him if he was by any chance with him, which he wasn’t. He instantly got to their house and hey told him what had happened. Apparently, Jon had gotten into a fight at school, and when the principal had told him he was going to call his parents, he’d ran away crying and no one had seen him since.

“But it doesn’t make sense! Jon would never hurt a fly! He cries when he sees someone hurt!”

“From what I understand, he didn’t initiate the fight, and the teacher who found them even says he hasn’t seen Jon lift a finger on the other guy, but since his wrist was broken, the principal refused to believe he wasn’t somehow involved no matter what people told him,” Lois sadly said as she could feel Clark reeling next to her.

“It doesn’t matter right now,” he decided, “We’ll deal with that stupid principal later. Right now all that matters is that we find Jon.”

Conner thought about it for a while, then it hit him.

“I think I know where he is. It’s better if I go alone, if he left because he was scared of your reactions. I’ll bring him back, don’t worry.”

Lois seemed to want to protest, but Clark said:

“We trust you, just… make sure your brother’s okay please.”

“I promise.”

And Conner left, and started heading towards the park. He knew how much Jon loved the swings, how it was the only thing that could calm him down when he was feeling distressed. And of course, he was right, Jon was there. He didn’t see him approach as he was coming from the side and he was fixated hon his shoes, swinging slowly back and forth.

“You know, if you wanted to ditch class to go to the park, you should have just told me. I’m not above breaking the rules once in a while, and you would probably have had much more fun with me anyway.”

“K…. Kon? What are you… what are you doing here?”

“Your parents called me to tell me what happened. I figured you’d be hiding out here. Wanna tell me what happened with that guy?”

“I…. I didn’t mean to I swear, I didn’t mean for him to get hurt! I know they’re trying to blame me but I didn’t do it, I just…”

“Jon. I know you didn’t do anything wrong. I know you. I want you to tell me what this guy did, so I can know the truth, because I know what you’re going to tell me is going to be the truth, and so do your parents. They know you’re trustworthy, they would have taken your side.”

“Oh….I thought… I thought they were gonna be mad at me because I was called in the principal’s office…”

“of course they won’t since it wasn’t your fault. They might be a bit mad about you running away though, but only because they’ve been worried sick.”

“I’m sorry…”

“I know angel, I know. Now, tell me what happened.”

“I…I was just minding my own business , not causing any problem… and then this guy from my class he… he never liked me for some reason, but… someone told him that a girl he really likes likes me and not him, I don’t even know if it’s true or not… anyway, he decided he couldn’t let that happen and that he needed to fight me so she would see how much of a loser I am and start liking him instead… so he cornered me during recess and told me we were going to fight. I told him I didn’t wanna and he called me a coward but… I didn’t listen to him because dad always says it’s not brave to start fights, we should only fight to protect and defend. So he started pushing me and I just let him do it because it didn’t hurt anyway, but everyone had gathered around and was telling us to fight and he was screaming at me and it was all too much for me so I… I shoved him back a little so he would leave me alone but… I don’t control my strength very well yet and.. he ended up on the floor a few meters away… but he didn’t get hurt though! I swear! And then… he was even more pissed after that because he thought I had humiliated him or something so he got up and rushed at me and punched me in the face…”

“… ah. And let me guess, his wrist broke at the impact.”

“…yeah… I’m sorry I didn’t mean to I just…”

“Stop apologizing Jon. What, are you gonna go to him next and tell him ‘sorry my face hurt your wrist’? he attacked you, and hurt himself in the process. It’s his fault he’s a brute who doesn’t know how to control his anger.”

“But he couldn’t know he would get a broken wrist from punching me! “

“So? That makes it worse. You were lucky enough to have an advantage, but if it had been someone else, they might have been seriously hurt by this douche. It serves him right.”

“I still don’t feel like it’s fair… sometimes I wish I was just like everyone else… that I wouldn’t accidentally break stuff every five minutes because of my strength, that I wouldn’t hear every bad stuff people say about me behind my back because of my hearing, that I didn’t have tons of secrets to hide… I mean, I would still be an unlikable awkward nerd, but at least I would be the normal kind…”

Conner sighed and sat down on the swing next to Jon’s.

“Sometimes I wish I was normal too. Sometimes I feel like I will never fit in with anyone. But you know what I also realized? Normality doesn’t exist. Some people decided what normal was based on their own traits and characteristics and likes, and since they were more powerful, it became what everyone was supposed to be like. But there’s not two identical individuals in the universe. And it’s your uniqueness that makes you strong. Trying to be ‘normal’ will only lead you to being unhappy. The only thing you can ever strive to be is yourself, and sometimes it’s even harder. But it’s worth it. besides, I know you don’t realize it yet but, your true self, it’s absolutely beautiful Jon. Everyone who actually tries to get to know you will see that. And one day, you’ll meet people who will try, I swear to you. People who will try their hardest to get to know you, people who will not ask anything more from you than for you to just be. They will make them so happy, and you will make them just as happy because that’s what you do, you’re a ray of light and no one is allowed to cloud you. “

“… you really think I’ll be accepted someday?”

“I think it will happen sooner than you think.”

“… thanks Conner… I’m glad you’re my brother… even if things are not always great right now, at least I have you and… I couldn’t ask for a better brother…”

“Neither could I. And I can promise you I’ll always be there for you, no matter what. You’re my priority okay? Always. So next time something like this happens, come to me. I’ll take care of it, it’s my job. I’m here to have your back little bro.”

Jon didn’t answer and got up to hug his brother, crying.

“shsh, it’s okay now little one, let’s go home yeah? Let’s go home.”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

_“My brother.”_

Damian had of course been aware that Conner had a brother, he’d talked about him a lot, and in details. Damian was actually really intrigued by what he’d heard, not knowing if he believed that such a sweet and innocent creature could exist.

“Why do you want me to meet your brother all of a sudden?”

“I just feel like you two could get along. You’re both the sons of two of the biggest superheroes to have ever lived, and this means you have to hide a lot of yourselves to the world. It’s hard for you to make friends outside this circle, and I think you can understand how the other feels. “

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed but, I’m a loner. I don’t do well with people, and with what you told me about your brother, he’s the kind of people who’s probably well liked instantly. He most likely has tons of friends already, and…”

“He doesn’t.”

“Pardon?”

“He doesn’t have tons of friends. In fact, I don’t think he’s ever had an actual real friend. He’s the most precious being on this planet, but maybe that’s the thing. He’s such a kind soul that people take advantage of his kindness to hurt him, and he lets them because he hates for people to suffer because of him, even those that wronged him. he just wants people to like him, but they never seem to want to get to know him. so he just mostly stays alone, or if they talk to him it’s to mock him, from the way he looks to the clothes he wears to the things he likes, everything is fair game. And just yesterday, some asshole kid attacked him for some petty reason and punched him.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, basically my reaction. It didn’t do anything because of his kryptonian genes, and the other kid ended up with a broken wrist, but it messed Jon up a lot. Look, I’m not asking you to instantly become best friends with him or something, just to give it a try. I have a good feeling about the two of you.”

“… your good feeling, wouldn’t it perhaps have something to do with some future knowledge you might have acquired from the other me?”

“Damn you mini Bats and your perceptivity. Maybe I do know some things, but I didn’t want to say anything because I don’t want you to feel forced into anything just because other you would have been on board.”

“I appreciate that.” Damian said before started thinking for a minute, before he continued:

“He needs a protector.”

“hm?”

“Your brother. Jon. He needs a protector. Someone who doesn’t mind hurting a few jerks when they step out of line. Someone to teach him not to let people walk all over him, to teach him he deserves just as much respect as anyone else. “

“Well… yeah, that’s what he needs I guess but…”

“I’ll do it,” Damian cut him, “it’s what heroes do right? They take care of the innocents, make sure they don’t get hurt. So I’ll start with your brother. I’ll take care of him like so many people have taken care of me ever since I got here, including you. I owe you that much.”

“… damn it kid, why are you such a precious bean? Are you trying to get a hug out of me?”

“Don’t you dare. Let’s go, we can’t keep your brother waiting.”

They got to the Kents’ where Clark was a bit perplexed seeing who exactly Conner had arranged for Jon to meet, but he still smiled and welcomed Damian warmly.

“Jon is in the backyard,” he mentioned, “We went to pick up the puppy we’ve been promising him for months this morning, and he’s been playing with him ever since. We barely managed to get him to come inside to eat for lunch.”

“Well, you should have seen that one coming. Us mere humans don’t exist anymore once Jon comes into contact with a pet. We’ll still try to get his attention, come on Damian, follow me.”

They got to the backyard and found Jon sitting in the grass, with a white Labrador pup on his lap, petting him and laughing softly as the pup was trying to climb on his chest.

“Hey Jonnie, having fun?” Conner called out to him.

Jon lifted his head to see the two newcomers. He smiled radiantly.

“Hi Kon! Hi uh… I don’t know who you are sorry,” he apologized while addressing a shy smile to Damian who suddenly didn’t look as confident as he had when he’d declared he was going to become Jon’s protector. ‘cute,’ Conner said as he decided to come to his rescue:

“Remember when I told you about Dickie’s numerous brothers? Well, this is the youngest, Damian. I thought you two could maybe become friends, I have a feeling you will get along just fine.”

Jon looked at Conner a bit confused but still hopeful, and then he addressed Damian again:

“Do you want to meet my dog? He doesn’t have a name yet, I’m still working on it, maybe you can help.”

Damian just looked at Conner for reassurance and he smiled at him and nodded encouragingly, so he swallowed and said:

“Sure, that seems like a great idea.”

He then proceeded to sit in front of a beaming Jon who just put the pup on the ground and watched as he slowly approached Damian, trying to decide if he was trustworthy, before finally jumping onto his lap and licking his face. Damian smiled a bit at that and started petting the little guy.

“He really seems to like you! That’s good!” Jon said happily.

“He’s a good pup,” Damian answered simply while scratching the little dog behind the ears.

“He really is! Do you like pets?”

“I love them, they’re better than people most of the time.”

“That’s what I always say! You’re cool, I’m keeping you!”

“already? You barely know me,” Damian pointed out.

“Yeah but Conner said you were nice, and my pup thinks so too, so that means you’re great!”

“I see… I think you’re pretty great too.”

Damian didn’t know how he managed that, but Jon started smiling even brighter. ‘So they were right,’ he thought, ‘he really is as sweet as everyone says.’

As they continued talking (it mostly ended up with Jon babbling on and on about whatever was on his mind and Damian listening intently while still petting the pup) they didn’t notice Conner retreating to the house where he watched the whole interaction with Clark, commenting on the adorable scene in front of them.

“They clicked almost instantly, I didn’t think that was possible. How did you get the idea that Bruce’s kid would get along with Jon?”

“Let’s just say some things are meant to be. You better get used to Damian being around, I don’t thik he’s going anywhere anytime soon. “

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How cute is Jon? like, can he even get any cuter? probably not.  
> Just aheads up, I'm going on vacation for a week tomorrow and I don't know if I'll have time to write. I wanted to write three more chapters before that but I got a little behind schedule . I'll try to have posted at least one more chapter by tomorrow.
> 
> Next Chapter: A lot of Jaydick interactions, ft Roy


	12. Knock On My Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick and Jason finally get to talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!   
> So this chapter is really short sorry. I didn't feel like adding unnecessary things, and I really, really wanted to start writing the next one cause that shit's gon be lit son.  
> it's cute though so I hope you'll enjoy x

Jason hadn’t meant to take this long to reach out to Dick. To be honest, after talking to Jaime and Tim about it, he realized how stupid he had been to think his brother would be anything but happy to see him again. But every time he tried to find the courage, he would get scared and give up.

In the mean time, he’d ended up reconnecting with Roy .

Roy and he used to have a cat and dog relationship when he’d first started out as a hero. He would call him an annoying little Gremlin most of the time, and he’d just respond with a few colorful insults. But behind that façade, Jason knew that out of all the young heroes he knows, Roy was the one who understood him the most. And even though he was very close with Dick, whenever Jason and he butted head and he somehow ended up discussing it with Roy ( he had a way of making him talk even when he didn’t want to) he would never take Dick’s side without hearing his.

It had only been a few months since he’d come back when Roy came back into his life. He’d tried to push him away at first, but he wasn’t having it.

“I know what it’s like to have your whole life taken away from you. To feel like you don’t have a place anywhere in the world anymore. And when that happened to me and I tried dealing with it alone, I fucked up bad. If it wasn’t for that whole thing with Bart, Damian and the Caretaker, and learning I’d one day have to provide for a child, I would probably have gone even further. I’m not letting you do that. you’re just a kid Jay, you don’t deserve that.”

“I haven’t been a kid for a very long time,” Jason had answered in a neutral tone.

“Well, you’re not exactly a functioning adult either. Now , we can do this the hard way, you can try avoiding me and being nasty all you want, but I’m a stubborn son of a bitch and you’ll end up exhausted without having gotten rid of me. Or you could just give up now and let me help.”

Jason had just sighed deeply at that, and that’s how he ended up with Roy as a constant in his life.

One of the things he was the most hell-bent on was that Jason needed to talk to Dick. He’d pester him about it every single day, even sending him texts about it when they didn’t see each other.

He’d probably have snapped sooner or later and gone to Dick, but Damian had arrived before then. So Roy wouldn’t have the satisfaction of knowing Jason had listened to him, and that was a consolation for the former Robin.

He was nervous as he approached Dick’s place in Blüdhaven, and felt even worse waiting in front of the door, not feeling brave enough to knock. He was about to give up once again, when the door suddenly opened and Dick just said:

“If you keep pacing in front of my door like this you’re gonna ruin my doormat.”

“… How long have you known I was there?”

“Saw you enter the building, figured it wasn’t a coincidence so I waited for you to knock. For thirty minutes.”

“damn, that’s embarrassing.”

“Yeah a bit. Come in.”

Jason did as told and followed as Dick directed them to the kitchen.

“After the first ten minutes, I figured I might as well do something to occupy myself, so I made cookies. Wanna lick the bowl?”

Jason shrugged, but took the bowl Dick was offering him. he felt like he was thirteen again, when Dick and he would sneak into the kitchen at night after patrol to bake cookies. Alfred would always scold them for ruining his kitchen in the morning, but it was worth it.

“So. You’re here. I’m guess Damian really did what he said he would and went out of his way to find you.”

“He did. Kid showed up at my doorstep out of the blue yesterday. Crazy little brat. He said you were sad not to hear from me and I had to fix it or face his wrath basically. Roy loved it. he wants to adopt him.”

“Roy was there? So, basically everyone knew where you’ve been except me?”

Jason shrugged uncomfortably.

“I didn’t really plan for this to happen. especially not having Roy basically claim my place as his own and practically never leaving. He’s a real nuisance. Anyway what I’m trying to say is that I wasn’t going out of my way to make you feel like I was singling you out and only wanting to avoid you. You just happened to respect my boundaries the most.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have then. Cause that was torture, knowing you were alive but not having any contact, not knowing whether you were alright or not except for small infos from Tim from time to time. “

“I’m sorry Dick…”

“Why? Why did you not reach out at all?”

Jason could see how hurt Dick had actually been by him, and he felt like an idiot for even just slightly thinking Dick might not have even cared.

“I couldn’t face you, I felt like too much of a failure. You gave me your mantle, you passed it down to me so I could keep your legacy alive, and I went and got myself killed because I was stupid and reckless. And when I came back, I was this lunatic crime lord with a penchant for murder, so basically everything you stand against. How could I stand in front of you and bare your disapproving words and the look of pity and disappointment you were gonna look at me with?”

“Jay…”

“I know what you’re going to say. You wouldn’t have done that, I’m still your brother; you wanted to help but… You’ll never know what it’s like, being your little brother. I’m not saying you’re a bad brother, no you’re amazing but… you’re just too amazing. You’re too perfect and it’s too hard trying to feel your shoes. “

“Then stop trying to do that.”

“it’s easier said than done.”

“I know that. You think you’re the only one with an inferiority complex? Try living up to Batman’s standards. Before you came into the picture, all I was to be good enough to one day become Batman. Every time I’d disappoint Bruce, I felt like the worst failure in the universe. But then I started realizing that I wasn’t Bruce, and I’d never be him. I stopped wanted to be Batman around that time too. I knew I needed to forge my own path, be my own person. You’ll never be me, but that’s not a bad thing. When you died, I didn’t mourn the death of the Second Robin, I mourned my little brother Jason. and fuck , Jay, I missed you so fucking much… I couldn’t stop thinking about what you must have felt before you passed, how lonely you must have been, and I just… I just wished I had been able to save you somehow, or even just been able to be with you… I just hated not being able to do anything to make sure you knew how much I loved you, how much I cared. If anyone failed, it’s me. I failed you. I should have been there…”

Silence fell as they both let their own guilt and sense of failure submerge them. Then Jason said:

“I think we’ve both been stuck in the past for too long now. We’ve let it condition us and destroy us. I don’t want to do that anymore. I want my brother back. I want to come to your place uninvited just to annoy you and raid your fridge, I want you to pester me with texts and phone calls even after I tell you to fuck off, I want to come to you for advice and be there when you need comfort. I want us to act like family again.”

“Took you long enough Jaybird.” Dick answered while getting up to hug his brother. Jaosn let him hold him for a while before suddenly saying:

“By the way, your cookies are burning champ.”

“OH CRAP!”

Jason just burst out laughing, being absolutely no help at all as Dick was trying to save his precious biscuits to no avail. After a bit of pouting from the elder, they decided to order pizza to make up for the loss. They spent the rest of the evening chatting, bickering like old times, just being their usual dorky selves.

It didn’t matter how long they’d been apart, Jason now knew he’d always have a place in Dick’s life, as long as he was brave enough to come knocking. And if he wasn’t, well, Dick would just leave the door open for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly JayDick brotp deserves more love. also I love Roy and I miss him. 
> 
> Next Chapter: Tim isn't really lucky when it comes to love


	13. Not In That Way (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim dealing with unrequited love.  
> (title and song used in the chapter: Not In That Way by Sam Smith)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI  
> I AM VERY EXCITED FOR THIS CHAPTER  
> I WROTE MOST OF THE NIGHT AND THIS MORNING SO I COULD FINISH IT IN TIME BECAUSE I REALLY WANTED YOU TO READ IT OKAY HERE YOU GO ENJOY BYE

It had only been a few weeks since Tim had officially became Robin, and he was very eager to soon be able to join the team, even though he wasn’t sure how he was going to fit in. just to be sure he’d meet their expectations, he had started training even harder the past few days. And right this instant, he was frustrated because he desperately needed a sparring partner, and Dick was nowhere to be found. He’d been absent a lot this week, and Tim was getting tired of waiting for him. he knew he couldn’t expect him to always be there of course, but they lived in the same house and he barely saw him anymore, this was getting ridiculous.

Thinking maybe he’d be lucky and he was just in his room this time, Tim got upstairs to try and find him. but when he entered the room, it wasn’t Dick that he found sitting on the bed.

“Oh, hi. You’re Tim, right? Nice to meet you kid, my name’s Conner, I’m Dick’s boyfriend.”

Tim just stared at him dumbfounded for a few seconds. Of course, he’d hear about Conner Kent, Superboy, first from Jason when he’d been alive and then by Dick, but seeing him in person was an entirely different experience.

It wasn’t hard to see why Dick was dating him if he was honest. The guy looked like he had been sculpted by the gods or something, and Tim could swear his eyes were actually sparkling. Who could blame him for being awestruck for a while after seeing that?

“Hey, kid? You still there?”

Tim shook his head to snap out of it.

“Right! Sorry, I’m alright, um… what were we talking about?”

“I had just introduced myself,” Conner said amusedly, “and then you stopped computing.”

“Sorry about that, sometimes I tend to shut down in stressful situations…”

“Is meeting me that stressful?”

“No! No that’s not it! I mean kinda but… I’m just really bad at meeting new people in general, that’s all…”

“I see. Well you don’t have anything to worry about, I swear I don’t bite. So, Dick told me you were going to be joining the team soon?”

“That’s the plan yeah…”

“That’s great. I can’t wait to be working with you. From what I’ve heard you’re pretty impressive. Guessing Batman and Robin’s secret identities at only 11? That’s pretty bad ass.”

Tim was pretty sure he’d turned into a tomato at this point, and didn’t know how to salvage the little dignity he had left.

“t..thank you, I’m really looking forward to working with you too… with the team I mean not you specifically not that there’s anything wrong with you, you’re great, amazing even I just meant that like all the rest of the team is probably amazing too and it will be an honor to work with all of you and…”

“Dude. Breathe, you’re gonna pass out if you keep talking this fast. I get what you meant, don’t worry.”

And honestly, Tim didn’t know if he had ever been in a more mortifying situation in his life. Thankfully, Dick chose this time to appear with two mugs and save him.

“here you go, I couldn’t find any marshmallows so that took me a little bit longer than anticipated but… oh hey Timmy, what are you doing here ?”

“Your brother and I where just getting to know each other a bit, “Conner explained while reaching for his mug.

“I see, I forgot you two hadn’t met yet! “

“Well, now we have, we’re gonna get along just fine aren’t we kid?”

“I uh… sure, yeah…”

“you look a bit red Timmy, you sure you’re okay? You didn’t get sick on patrol did you? I told you to wear something under the costume when it’s cold!”

“I’m fine Dick! I should probably leave you guys now, you must want time for yourselves…”

“Hold on, weren’t there a reason for you to come all the way to Dickie’s room?”

“Oh, that’s right! Did you need something?”

“Oh um… I wanted to see if you wanted to spar, but since you’re busy I’ll just go work on my homework or call Jaime or something, don’t worry.”

Dick looked a bit guilty at that, and Conner said:

“are you sure? I don’t mind you two sparring you know, I’ll just stay in a corner somewhere.”

“No no , it’s okay!” Tim said hastily, knowing full well he wouldn’t be able to focus if Conner was there and would end up making a fool of himself, “besides, I did promise Jaime I’d come by soon, so I should probably go do that… yeah…”

“if you say so Timmy, “ Dick said while ruffling his hair, “we can have a sparring session tomorrow if you want? I’ll clear my afternoon for you.”

“Sounds great, let’s do that. I’ll just go do now, it was nice to meet you Conner, bye!”

Conner waved after him as he’d already ran out of the room.

“Sorry about him,” Dick said, “he gets weird around people he doesn’t know.”

“Nah, it’s okay, he’s cute. Weird but cute.”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

If you asked Jaime, he’d tell you it had been obvious from the beginning that Tim had a crush on his brother’s boyfriend. He still remembered how he’d gotten to his house panicked the first time he’d met Conner because he was sure he had humiliated himself to the point of no return, and ‘oh my God Jaime what if he thinks I’m too much of an embarrassing dork to be on the team? Do you think he’s gonna hate me now?’

So yeah, Jaime was painfully aware from the very beginning, but it was even clearer once he himself had joined the team and seen their interactions first hand. And to be honest, it had made things worse, because at first he had thought he’d grow out of the crush at some point, but he seemed to get deeper and deeper into it and that could only end in disaster since , as mentioned before, this was his brother’s boyfriend.

The saddest part was that Tim had no clue he was desperately smitten, because he was terrible mess when it came to love. But it wasn’t like Jaime was going to tell him, especially when knowing would only serve to hurt him even more and make him feel guilty.

Unfortunately, nothing stayed hidden from Tim Drake forever. A few weeks after Jaime had started dating Bart, it seemed to finally dawn on him as he came to Jaime saying:

“So. Remember when I told you that maybe someday someone I have a crush on might crush on you as a payback for the time Bart had a thing for me? Yeah, turns out karma is even crueler.”

“….Ah.” was all Jaime could answer.

“Wait… you know don’t you? You’ve known about my crush all this time, of course you did, you always know everything about me before I even start to guess.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be your best friend if I didn’t.”

“This is a nightmare,” Tim whined as he jumped on the bed where Jaime was already lying down, and ignored his loud protest as he was completely crushing him and proceeded to lay his head on his chest and start cuddling up to him, “why couldn’t I crush on literally anyone else? Dick is gonna hate me when he finds out.”

“Dick could never hate you. Besides, he hasn’t had a clue so far so I don’t see that changing any time soon. And even if it did, he knows that you don’t control who you fall for.”

“Yeah, I hate that. I think that’s a default, we should reprogram humanity and get rid of this flaw.”

“You’re being over dramatic,” Jaime stated while running his finger through Tim’s hair, “it’s gonna get better okay? I promise. You just need some time to move on.”

“Would you have moved on? From Bart I mean., if he hadn’t fallen for you”

“Well, probably not no, but, that wasn’t the same situation.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m in love with Bart. The kind of love you have a hard time getting rid of. He’s just… I feel like it’s cliché to say he’s the one, but that’s kind of the truth… I just don’t see myself with anyone else, nor do I want to. That’s not the same for you.”

“…”

“…Tim.”

“hm?”

“It really isn’t like that for you, right?”

“Of course not, not at all. It’s just a crush, a silly crush, I’ll get over it soon you said it yourself.”

“…right… hey Timmy?”

“yeah?”

“I love you. Just thought I should remind you.”

“Gross, you’ve got a boyfriend.”

“Forget I said anything then ungrateful brat!”

“I’m kidding; you know I love you too. I’d marry you but that would be gay.”

“I actually can’t stand you.”

But Jaime was glad Tim was still capable of making jokes, no matter how bad. He was happy that his friend wasn’t completely depressed. He just had to hope his fears wouldn’t come true and that Tim would be able to move on after all.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

“So,” Bart started as he entered the living room of the apartment he, Jaime and Tim shared, “no big deal but, I might have cause two long term couples to crash and burn in just one week”

“I beg your pardon?” Tim asked confused, turning away from his episode of Twin Peaks.

“So, basically, I kinda maybe told Wally that he was an idiot for thinking he had a future with Artemis because he was in love with Dick?”

“You did what?!”

“Hey, don’t look at me like that! It had to be said at some point, I wasn’t about to let him make himself and Arty miserable because he couldn’t see the truth! Anyway so yeah, he and Arty broke up, it actually went very well from what I heard, and she’s now dating Zatanna so it’s all good, and then Wally went to Dick and…”

“oh no, please don’t tell me he confessed.”

“…alright I won’t tell you then.”

“Oh dear… poor Dickie, he probably had the mother of all mental breakdown.”

“Yeah essentially. He couldn’t handle it so he went to Kon and long story short, they ended up breaking up too. Now Dick is in hiding somewhere only Jason knows where, and Conner is desperately trying to have a one on one with Wally so he can tell him to go after Dick and be happy or something. He asked me for help to corner Walls, that’s why I know.”

“I can’t believe… he’s trying to hook them up when he must be so devastated…”

“Yeah, he looked kind of heartbroken. Made me feel a bit guilty, I didn’t think this would cause so many side effects…”

“It’s not your fault, as you said, it had to happen eventually. Better now than when they’re already all married to the wrong person or something. I just feel really bad for Conner, he doesn’t deserve to feel this way…”

And he also felt guilty for having a part of him that felt relieved by that break up. That was selfish of him.

“You’re taking this pretty hard. You look like you’re just as heartbroken as Kon.”

“I just think it’s unfair that’s all. Conner is the most amazing guy I’ve ever met, and I wish he could find someone who loves him fully. It’s not Dick’s fault of course, he didn’t choose to fall so deep for Wally but… nothing is fair in this situation.”

“No, you’re right, it’s not fair. Conner’s unrequited love is just as unfair as your own.”

“… seriously, does everyone know?”

“Not everyone. Just me, Jaime, Jason, probably Damian too. I think Roy might know too at this point. And Babs. Did I mention Megan? Cause yeah, Megan too. Oh and Garfield. Kaldur, Cassie. Oh and also…”

“Bartie that’s basically everyone.”

“Oh…right. So yeah, everyone knows. But not Dick or Conner so there’s that at least yeah?”

“Oh joy…”

“listen, look on the bright side, at least now he’s single.”

“Yeah, but he’s still my big brother’s ex-boyfriend.”

“So? Who cares about that really.”

“I care. Dick probably will too. And Conner.”

“Not if you two end up really loving each other. Dick will probably want both of you to be happy.”

“Even if you were right, I don’t stand a chance. Conner sees me as Dick’s kid brother. he’ll never see me in any other way. “

“You can’t know that!”

“I can. I’m not Dick. I’m not confident or naturally charming, I’m ot a freaking model like he is, I’m just a shy and awkward nerd who can’t even say two sentences in front of him without embarrassing myself.”

“As someone who used to have a crush on you, I feel personally offended by all you’ve just said. It feels like you’re insulting my taste in men.”

“Well you’re dating Jaime so you’re not really one to talk about taste.”

“Hey! Take that back! My boyfriend is basically a God and you’re just jealous!”

“Alright alright I’m sorry stop hitting me!”

“Serves you right! Now back to you. I don’t know if you’re aware but like, you’re hella attractive mate.”

“Are you trying to make it sound less gay by talking like a typical douche?”

“Don’t know what you’re on about bro. No but seriously, first of all you’re stunningly beautiful, like 10/10 Disney prince type of shit. Also, when you smile, I literally want to giveyou both my kidneys so if you ever need one you know what to do.”

“Good to know, especially with my weak ass immune system.”

“True true. But listen, you’re even more dangerous because you’re not only gorgeous, you’re an actual great person too! You’re a literal genius, like Sherlock Holmes level of genius, except you’re not actually an asshole about it and oh my god you do the cutest things sometimes, like, what the fuck? You get excited about the smallest things and you’ll talk everyone’s ears off about it and no one ever tells you to shut up because you’re just too precious when you’re like that. and you care so much about the people you love, you’d do anything for them, and that’s probably one of the best things about you, and you’re telling me you’re no good enough or some other bullshit?”

“You don’t usually swear that much.”

“You’re not usually this full of crap.”

“Fair enough.”

“Really though Timmy, I know you it’s hard for you to see past your flaws, but I’m telling you, everyone else sees how great you are. I’m sure Conner sees it too, and it wouldn’t be hard for him to fall for you.”

“… you know, I once asked Jaime if he would have been able to move on from you if you hadn’t reciprocated his feelings, and he told me he wouldn’t because you were ‘the one’, that insufferable sap.”

“Aw he did? He’s so romantic I swear, he makes me cry of joy at least once a day.”

“I think it’s disgusting but whatever you say. Anyway so he said that comparing his situation to mine, because he said I would be able to move on because it wasn’t like that for me. And he was right about that, it isn’t the same, because Jaime is just as much ‘the one’ for you as you are for him. “

“Well, you ain’t wrong about that one,” Bart said with a loving smile.

“Yeah, it’s pretty obvious. But he was wrong about everything else. Because, I know I’m never gonna be ‘the one’ for Conner but… I’ve been thinking about it for years now and…. He definitely is for me.”

“Oh Timmy… “

“Hey, it’s okay. I’ve accepted it a long time ago. And It’s fine, I mean, I don’t have any room to complain. I have amazing friends, a family that loves me, I spend my life protecting people and catching bad guys, honestly my life’s pretty great, so it doesn’t matter that my love life isn’t. “

Bart didn’t answer and decided to start cuddling Tim instead, holding him as tight as he possibly could. Tim held him just as tightly, sighing contently. Bart really did give the best hugs.

“Maybe I should have dated you when I had the chance.”

“I know right? You clearly missed out.”

Tim laughed out loud and Bart started giggling just as Jaime entered the apartment.

“oh hey there queridos, what are you cutie pies doing?”

“Well, Bart was telling me how much he loved me and now we’re cuddling cause we’re actually in love.”

“Sounds fun, can I join?”

“Sure!” Bart said “the more the merrier.”

Jaime sat on the other side of Bart, cuddling up to him.

“Seriously though, what did I miss?”

“Nothing important, just me being emo,” Tim answered with a shrug.

“About what?”

“Conner.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah, basically Timmy thinks he’s gonna die alone.”

“nah that won’t happen. if it ever comes to it, we’ll marry you.”

“We?”

“Yeah, Bartie and I, isn’t that right cariño?”

“Sure, the more the merrier!” Bart repeated before kissing both of them on the cheek

“I seriously love you both to death, I swear to God. “

“We love you too Timmy. And we’ll always be there for you.”

And that made him feel a lot better about the whole ordeal.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Conner didn’t feel like going out at all. If he was honest, he would rather stay in bed under his blanket and never come out again. But apparently, Jason had decided it was his personal mission to make sure he would get back on his feet after the difficult break up he went through.

He had to admit he hadn’t anticipated how hard he would take breaking up with Dick. He’d thought he had been prepared for years, always knowing it was going to end up right where it had, when Wally would wake up. Because there was no competing with Wally, and he wasn’t even going to try.

And yet, after Dick had left and it had dawned on him that oh, he was single , and he’d just ended a relationship he had invested everything in for five years, he realized that he was indeed feeling like crap.

He finally understood what Megan had tried to warn him about before he started dating Dick. But he’d never been the rational type, he had always followed his heart, and his heart had screamed at him to be with Dick, to take care of him, to make him as happy as he could, and to love him with everything he had. So he did.

And now it was over. And it sucked.

So now, Jason had barged into his apartment demanding he got dressed because he was visiting ‘the punk, the brat, and the precious little bean’ at their apartment, and Conner had to come, it was non-negotiable.

“I don’t think I should just myself into your friend group like that .”

“Nonsense! You’re our friend too! Besides, I usually bring Roy over nowadays too. He can’t come today cause he’s taking care of Lian, otherwise he’d be there. So you see, totally normal.”

“It’s only normal cause it’s your boyfriend, so it doesn’t c…”

“Boyfriend? Who said anything about a boyfriend? Roy’s not my boyfriend!”

“What, still not? What the fuck are you waiting for?”

“I… I’m not even attempt to answer this bullshit. Anyway back to the main point. You need this. You need a night surrounded by cool people who aren’t Dick and Walls but who you’re still relatively close to. And really, just wait until Bart hugs you to death, you’ll forget the very concept of sadness. You’ll have a great time, I swear, now go get dressed before I do it myself. “

“Ugh, fine.”

And that’s how he ended up at the trio’s apartment. He actually hadn’t been there a lot since they had moved in two years ago. They were welcomed by Jaime who actually looked genuinely happy to see Conner, just as much as Jason.

“Good, you guys made it! come on in, hey Jay, would you mind making sure Bart doesn’t actually end up cutting one of his fingers off? He’s in the kitchen making some kind of French dish with a name I can’t pronounce, he’s decided cooking was his new passion this week. I just need to go talk to the neighbor about something real quick. Conner, just do as you please, mi casa es tu casa ! Tim is in his room doing God knows what if either of you want to say hi , okay I’ll be back in five minutes!”

Conner barely registered what had just happened.

“Is he always this speed?”

“didn’t used to be, I think Bart is rubbing off on him. I better go check on the baby, you’re gonna be okay alone?”

“I’m not a child in need of constant care Jason, Jesus Christ. I’ll just go bother your brother; I like him better than you anyway.”

“Words hurt too you know?”

“Yeah sure, whatever drama queen.”

And with that, Conner just left to go find Tim.

As he approached the room, he could hear the sound of a guitar playing, and it picked his curiosity. The door was slightly opened, and he could see Tim inside, sitting next to the window with a guitar he was gently strumming. Conner didn’t feel like interrupting him when he looked so focused, so he just decided to listen and enjoy. That’s when Tim started singing:

_“And I hate to say I love you_  
When it's so hard for me  
And I hate to say I want you  
When you make it so clear  
You don't want me

 _I'd never ask you cause deep down_  
I'm certain I know what you'd say  
You'd say I'm sorry believe me  
I love you but not in that way”

Conner couldn’t believe his ears; Tim had the voice of an angel. But, while that was already a shock in itself (was there anything the Robins couldn’t do?) what actually got him speechless was how much pain and heart break he could hear in his voice. He sang every word like they had the deepest meaning, and as if it hurt to even enounce them.

_“And I hate to say I need you_  
I'm so reliant  
I'm so dependent  
I'm such a fool

 _When you're not there_  
I find myself singing the blues  
Can't bear  
Can't face the truth”

The irony of the fact that the lyrics of this song perfectly described his situation wasn’t lost on him either. It was almost suffocating to listen to. And hearing how Tim poured his heart in it, he just kne he had to be in a similar situation.

_“You will never know that feeling  
You will never see through these eyes_

_I'd never ask you_  
'Cause deep down I'm certain I know what you'd say  
You'd say I'm sorry  
Believe me  
I love you  
But not in that way

 _You'd say I'm sorry_  
Believe me  
I love you  
But not in that way”

As the song ended, Conner couldn’t help but say in an almost whisper:

“Jesus kid… who hurt you?”

Tim jumped at the voice, turning to face Conner with his cheeks already reddening with embarrassment.

“C… Conner! I… when did you get there?”

“About when you started singing. Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“No, it’s okay, I just… didn’t expect you to be there that’s all.”

“Yeah, I should have knocked probably. You have a very beautiful voice. And I didn’t know you played guitar. “

“Oh… thank you… and I don’t really… I mean, I studied piano for years, but guitar is just something I picked up along the way… this is actually Jaime’s. He used to have it lying around in his room , one of his cousin had given it to him at some birthday or Christmas, I don’t really remember. He’d told him “chicks dig a man who plays guitar” and honestly I think he was so offended he just decided never to learn to play out of spite. But whenever I was at his I would just play around with it, and after a while I started learn a few chords… when we moved in together Jaime just took the guitar with him cause he knew it always calmed my nerves and help me feel better to play. And also, it’s easier to keep in a limited space than a piano so… I’m talking too much again aren’t I?”

“No, don’t worry, it’s interesting. I realize I don’t know enough about you. You’re a real mystery sometimes.”

“Me? Pfft, I’m an open book…”

“That’s a lie if I ever heard one. But it’s okay, it’s actually nice to discover things about you little by little. Now, back to your choice of song. That was depressing as fuck.”

“oh… yeah I guess it probably was… just felt like singing it for some reason…”

“I see, unrequited love?”

“something like that…”

“I get the feeling. I’d be happy to listen if you ever need to talk about it.”

Tim looked at him curiously for a while, before answering:

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Conner nodded, then came to sit next to him.

“mind if I try?” he said gesturing towards the guitar.

“You play?” Tim asked surprise while still handing the guitar to him.

“A bit. What were the chords again?”

Tim proceeded to show him, and Conner picked up pretty fast.

“Would you mind singing the song again while I play?”

“Oh… hum… alright, if you want I guess…”

And as he was running his fingers on the strings, Tim’s soft voice ringing in his ears next to him, Conner felt like a great weight had been lifted off his chest. He felt himself finally starting to heal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAH SUPERBIRD IS SLOWLY RISING FROM THE DEAD AND I CANNOT HANDLE IT I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!   
> I had so many things to say but I'm too sleep deprived to remember so I guess I'll see you guys in the comments and I'll gush there lol;  
> Next chapter: maybe Tim is "the one" after all


	14. Can I Be Him (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conner realizes that sometimes, moving on is just as easy as finding a new favorite song. you just need to find the right song.
> 
> Song used in this chapter: Can I be him- James Arthur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi.  
> I...  
> Ok so, this chapter is like, 20 pages long. I honeslty don't have a clue how it happened, it just did. I put so much things in it, like, for all the superbird fans, you'll be served a full course meal.   
> tbh they just upstaged every single ship in the fic , my babies are so powerful.  
> Anyway, here you go, enjoy! xxx

Conner didn’t know exactly when he started spending all his free time with Tim. it just kind of happened. There was something awfully appeasing about Tim’s presence, and he was enjoying getting to know him better.

With Tim of course came his two extensions in the form of Jaime and Bart half of the time. Conner spent so much time at their place that they would call him whenever they went grocery shopping for the week to know if there was anything he needed for when he would inevitably plan on crashing there the following days.

Very often, Conner would ask Tim to sing something for him. Tim would blush but always did it anyway. Sometimes he’d play the guitar himself, sometimes Conner would accompany him. it was quickly becoming a routine of sorts, one that Conner cherished.

“You know,” Tim had pointed out one day while Conner had been playing around with the guitar, “I think it’s a bit unfair that I’m always the one providing the entertainment. When do I get to hear YOU sing?”

“Ha! Good one,” Conner snorted, “sorry to disappoint, but I don’t sing.”

“Why not? Are you tone deaf or something?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“You’re a real pain sometimes, you know?”

“I’ve been made aware of it a couple of times. I’m just not really into singing. It’s probably got something to do with the fact I think there’s no more vulnerable states than the one you’re in when you sing you know? There’s something raw and completely naked about it, and I guess I’m not really confident in that area.”

“So you’re telling me there’s one specific aspect of life where I’m a lot more confident than you are?”

“I’m pretty sure there’s more than one, but yeah that’s basically it.”

“what would it take to make you break your ‘I don’t sing’ rule?”

Conner seemed to think about it for a while.

“Probably someone really special. Someone I would actually crave to be vulnerable with because that would mean I’d be sharing a part of my soul with them.”

“…has there ever been someone like that, in your life?”

Conner could here the hidden ‘was that how you felt for Dick’ in his voice, and he just shrugged:

“No, I don’t think so. Has there been one for you?”

“I’m not sure…”

Conner decided not to push it. if there was one subject he never pushed with Tim, it was his love life. After all, he himself didn’t overstep by asking too much questions about how Conner was doing, how he was feeling and al that jazz, so he wasn’t about to disrespect him in turn by poking at something he clearly was not ready to talk about.

He’d pieced some clues together however, during the time he’d spent with him. He’d gathered that there was someone he cared for far too much, someone seemingly unreachable. And he was trying to face it with a smile and move on, but it wasn’t exactly going as planned. Conner had asked Jaime about it, and he’d just told him:

“Tim’s been devoted to the same person for years, despite the fact that he stood no chance. Sometimes he even felt like he was completely invisible to them. He’s not really harboring any hope of ever having his feelings returned, and he wished he could just move on, but sometimes it’s just plain impossible. “

Conner felt like he could relate from this situation pretty well, even though it was apparent now that he himself wasn’t as doomed as Tim seemed to be. He’d started healing from his break up with Dick, and had managed to hang out with him and Wally once or twice without feeling like he needed to jump out the window, so at least there was that. he just hoped that Tim could one day find a way to heal too.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Tim was, for lack of a better term, in deep shit.

He knew it was the worst idea ever to spend this much time with the guy he was in love with when it had started. It would only manage to bring him even more heartbreak.

But he wasn’t strong enough to just avoid him, especially when Conner had been the one to reach out first. It was impossible not to want to spend every waking moment with him once he knew what having him around was like.

He’d needed advice from someone who had been through it before. Unfortunately, the only person he knew who had had to deal with a similar situation was also the one he least wanted to talk about Conner with.

And yet he still found himself in Dick’s apartment, a stressed look in his eyes anyway.

“So… you’ve been sitting on my couch blankly staring ahead for about an hour now. Are you planning on saying something or should I just guess what’s happening, you did come to talk about something after all.”

“… I’m in love.”

“…Oh. With who?”

“Can’t tell you that.”

“Why?”

“Can’t tell you that either.”

“What CAN you tell me then? “

“Just that it’s been a while, that it’s completely unrequited and that I’m clearly going through it and I don’t know how to handle it anymore.”

“I see… and you wanted to tell me because?”

“I was just wondering when you did it. When you thought Wally would never return your feelings and you still had to see him nearly every day and pretend everything was fine, when you still had to be his friend despite everything.”

“Ah. Well you’ve probably come to the wrong person. I was a whole emo mess. I didn’t deal with things as well as I could have. Truth is, there’s no miracle way of dealing with it. You just have to endure it.”

“Gee, thanks Dickie, you’re making everything feel a lot better.”

“Well, I’m just being honest. But hey, it worked out for me in the end didn’t it? maybe it will for you too.”

“Yeah, no, not gonna happened.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“He’s in love with someone else. Has been for years. And for a very long time he barely noticed my existence. So it’s safe to say the chances of him falling for me are close to zero.”

“Oh Timmy…”

“Yeah, it sucks.”

“You sure you don’t wanna tell me who it is? Maybe it will help me understand better.”

“Trust me; you’re better off not knowing.”

“Well, whoever he is, he’s missing out on the best thing that could ever happen to him by not realizing how much love you have for him. Anyone would be lucky to have you.”

“Sure, too bad I don’t want just anyone. “

“Yeah, love isn’t fair sometimes. But from what I’ve learned from my own experience, every hard time, every heartbreak is going to pay off at some point. You just got to be patient.”

“I guess I’ll do that then… thanks Dickie.”

“You’re welcome Timmy, anytime.”

As he was on his way home, he received a call from Conner. He debated just not answering but again, his weak heart gave in.

“What’s up Kon?”

“Yo Timmy, are you home right now?”

“Not currently but I’ll be there in five minutes, why?”

“I’m taking you out; there’s something I really want to show you. I’ll pick you up in fifteen minutes, is that alright?”

“Uh… I guess yeah.”

“Great, see you soon!”

And with that he hung up. Tim was confused at the sudden outing, and wondered what Conner had in store for him this time.

He got home, quickly said hi to Jaime and Bart and told them he was going back outside. When he got down again, Conner was already waiting in his car for him. He smiled at him when he saw him and honestly Tim would never get used to that smile; even now it still made his legs feel like jelly. He quickly composed himself and got into the car.

“Hiya Tim! You ready?”

“Well it depends, what am I ready for?”

“It’s a surprise!”

“Can I at least know where we’re going?”

“Just a few miles outside the city.”

“There’s nothing but fields and a few farms there.”

“Look kid, just don’t worry about it, and put the radio on instead will you?”

Tim shrugged but did as told, before stating, because it had been bothering him for a while:

“You know, I’m not really a kid anymore.”

“Pardon?”

“You keep calling me kid; you make it sound like I’m still fourteen. I’m not.”

“Oh, right. I guess I do call you that. I’m sorry, old habits die hard. Does it bother you that much?”

“No it’s just… I mean… we’re friends now. Like real friends, not like before when I used to be too intimidated to even say two words to you before stuttering. And it feels weird to have you call me a kid. “

“I see. You feel like I don’t consider you as an equal. I’m sorry, I never meant to make you feel that way. To be honest, I’m actually amazed that you put up with me most of the time. Anyway, I’m very well aware you’re not a kid anymore, and I’ll try not to call you that from now on.”

“Thanks…”

“You’re welcome Tim. I’m glad you feel comfortable enough to tell me when something’s bothering you now. It shows how much our friendship has grown. And I should probably have told you before, but your friendship means the world to me.”

To see Tim was moved by that was an understatement. Even though it might not be in the way he’d want, the confirmation that he was important to Conner was something he didn’t know he needed, but it lifted a huge weight off his chest.

“It means the world to me to Kon.”

Conner smiled , his eyes still on the road. Silence fell between them, but it was in no way uncomfortable. Tim started softly humming to the song on the radio, feeling content and relaxed.

They eventually got where Conner wanted them to be. As it turned out, he had taken them to what seemed to be a little farm. They got out of the car and Conner said:

“Come on, let’s go say hello to Bettina, and then I’ll show you why we came all the way here for.”

Tim didn’t have time to ask who Bettina was exactly as Conner directed them both towards the front door. Conner knocked, and a small chubby little woman came to open the door. She seemed to be around seventy years old, and she had the kindest smile and sparkling eyes on her round face. As soon as she saw Conner, her smile doubled.

“Conner, my dear boy! What a lovely surprise!”

“Hi Aunt Bettina, how are you feeling?”

“Not too bad thank you! And who’s your handsome friend?”

“Aunt Bettina, this is Tim Drake, a very good friend of mine. Tim, meet Bettina Miller.”

“Nice to meet you Mrs. Miller.” Tim said with a shy smile while offering his hand to shake. Bettina giggled

“Look at him, he’s so polite! No Mrs. Around here my dear, call me Aunt Bettina, everyone does! And none of that hand shaking nonsense either, come and give me a hug!”

Tim was a bit surprised, but did as he was told awkwardly while Conner watched amused and fond.

“I actually came by to see your new arrivals Aunt Bettina, I think Tim is really gonna like them.”

“Oh, I see! Well, you two go ahead, then you can come back inside and we’ll have a drink! I made some muffins this morning, great timing!”

“oh the blueberry ones? Nice! We’ll be there soon then. Come on Timmy, let’s go.”

Once they were a bit away from the house and closer to the barn, Conner explained:

“I met Bettina a few years ago, after her husband died. Luthor wanted her evicted of her farm because he needed the land for some nefarious plot or another, and he made sure she couldn’t keep up with the bills and taking care of the farm by herself. I helped her out with the farm for a while until she could hire a few workers, and I got her some media coverage. Lois had a great time writing about the ‘fight of the little people against evil corporations.’ Anyway we stayed really close. I come by once in a while to see how she’s doing.”

Tim wasn’t surprised that Conner would do something so selfless and kind, it was in his nature he’d learned throughout the years.

“You’re really amazing you know that? And she seems like a great woman too.”

“She is. I bet you’re still wondering why we’re here though.”

“I’ll admit I’m a bit intrigued.”

“Remember the last time you were sick and Jaime called me panicked because he and Bart needed to go on a mission but he doesn’t like leaving you alone when you’re sick?”

“Do I remember completely embarrassing myself in front of you in my fever induced madness?”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up for that, it was cute. Anyway, you weren’t making sense in most of what you said, but you did beg me to buy you a bunny because you wanted to cuddle something fluffy. You also said you’d call him Jaime Jr. because…”

“…Bugs Bunny. Yeah, I remember that part… wait, is that why I suspiciously found a bunny plushie in front of my door the next day?”

“Who knows? The universe works in mysterious ways. “

Tim rolled his eyes at that.

“I was wondering where it had come from. It’s a really nice plushie though, thank you.”

“You’re welcome. But I still think it wasn’t enough. That’s why we’re here. Look.”

Tim looked where Tim was pointing, and his eyes lit up instantly. There were a dozen rabbits, most of them being very young, a month or two maybe.

“Oh my God! Bunnies! So many bunnies! Conner look at them they’re so adorable!”

Conner chuckled.

“I knew you’d be happy to see them, but I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting such a big reaction. Bettina takes care of a few rabbits because she likes to have children visiting the farm as often as possible, and they’re always eager to see the rabbits. She only had the four adult ones until a while ago, and as you can see they’ve been busy. She’s trying to find people to adopt them, so I thought that one of them might end up actually being Jaime Jr. “

“Oh my God really? I can keep one? Oh my God Conner you’re the best!”

Without even thinking about it, Tim launched himself onto Conner, hugging him excitedly, completely forgetting about his earlier worries about his feelings for Conner and how to deal with them.

They then proceeded to get to know the rabbits, and it was love at first sight for Tim and a little black and white rabbit that ended up being his little Jaime Jr. . Once that was done, they got back inside to spend time with Bettina who had basically adopted Tim by the time it was time for them to go. They made a promise to come visit them soon, and went on their way, Tim happily holding onto Jaime Jr.

Both the rabbit and his master fell asleep some time during the ride, and when they arrived, Conner couldn’t help but take a picture before waking Tim up. And if he set it as his phone lock screen, well, no one needed to know that.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

“so,” Jaime started saying from where he was sitting on the couch with Bart on his laps, “Conner found you a bunny.”

Tim, who was on the floor completely focused on his new pet that was now eating lettuce that Tim was offering him.

“Yup, he did. Isn’t he the actual best? By the way, Bart you’re Jaime Jr’s Godfather!”

“Yay!” Bart explained despite being half asleep in Jaime’s arms.

“Still not over the fact that you names your pet after me.” Jaime frowned.

“I did always say my first child would be named after you, didn’t I?”

“Fair enough. Now let’s go back to the fact that Conner Kent, the guy you’re in love with, went out of his way to get you a bunny just because you said you wanted one once when you were feverish and stoned out of your mind on meds. Doesn’t it make you completely freak out?”

“A bit I guess, but I mean, it’s Conner , he always does nice things for people.”

“He never bought me a pet.” Jaime pointed out.

“Yeah, me neither,” Bart added, “what’s up with that? I want a pet too!”

“You have a boyfriend, pester him about it, don’t steal my pet provider away from me!” Tim pouted indignantly.

“that’s the thing though,” Jaime cut through as Bart was starting to turn to him, probably to try and convince him to buy him a pet, “Conner is not your boyfriend.”

“Thanks Jaime.”

“No but, you get what I mean! He does all those things that could be considered really romantic, he takes you out constantly, comes by to take care of you when you’re sick, sends you a text every morning and before going to bed, and it makes you wonder doesn’t it?”

“Not really…”

“You’re telling me you don’t find it suspicious? That you don’t think there’s something more to it?”

“There isn’t anything more to it. We’re friends. That’s all we’ll ever be. And I’m okay with that, don’t look at me that way, I really am! I thought being closer to him when I could never be as close as I would like was a bad idea, but it’s actually been a blessing. I am far less depressed about my love life nowadays. I don’t think I’ll get to forget him, but at least right now, I don’t feel like it’s such a terrible thing anymore.”

Jaime looked a bit torn, not really knowing whether to be happy with this answer or not. Bart intervened, suddenly all serious:

“You’re feeling this way because there’s no one else in Conner’s life right now. But what if he finds someone else and that someone isn’t you? What will happen then? Can you honestly tell us that it won’t destroy you?”

Tim opened his mouth to answer that, no, it wouldn’t, that he could handle it, he had so far, but no words would come out. He suddenly froze, a million thoughts running through his mind. Maybe they were right. Maybe he was deluding himself. And maybe, somehow, all the attention that Conner had given him for the past few months had actually been suspiciously looking like romantic gestures, which had appeased Tim, made him feel like he had a taste of what it would be like, to actually be with him.

Yeah, he was screwed. And on the verge of a panic attack.

“Timmy? Tim I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say this so bluntly,” Bart apologized guiltily.

“No no, you’re right… I know you’re both just looking out for me, and you’re right, this situation isn’t normal… it’s… I… fuck what did I get myself into?”

“Hey, don’t blame yourself for this, you couldn’t have known this would end up like this! Look Pollito, we’re not saying you’re doing anything wrong, maybe it’s normal in your friendship, we don’t know. But there’s also the fact that you didn’t initiate any of this, Kon did. So what does that tell us about him? “

“… he doesn’t have any feelings for me. That’s impossible.”

“Why would it be?”

“It just is! He probably just isn’t used to not being in a relationship anymore, he and Dick stayed together for five years! He probably doesn’t even notice he’s doing it…”

“Timmy…”

“I… You know what? Let’s just forget all about this for tonight. I think I just need to sleep. It’s been a long day.”

He didn’t wait for his friends’ response, and just went straight to his room after deposing Jaime Jr in his cage. He laid on his bed, eyes wide awake and fixed on the ceiling for hours, his mind still rushing. He didn’t sleep one minute that night.

He barely got out of his room the next day , despite Jaime and Bart’s worried pleas. Finally, he couldn’t bear it anymore, and just sent Jason a text:

_‘Take me out tonight. Wanna experience one of your infamous wild nights’_

Jason answered almost instantly:

_“You sure Brat? It gets pretty intense.’_

_‘I can handle it.’_

_‘Alright then, I’ll be there soon.’_

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Conner had only been asleep for an hour when he heard his phone ring. He groggily picked it up to look at the caller ID: it was Tim. Why was Tim calling him at 3AM? The worst scenarios went through his mind as he answered the call.

“Tim? Is everything alright? Are you okay?”

_“Koooooooon! I miss youuuuuuuu!”_

“Wha… are you drunk?”

_“Am I? Jay am I drunk?”_

He could hear Jason in the background laughing and saying ‘you’re pissed out of your mind yes.’

“okay that’s a yes then. What are you doing out with Jay? You know it’s not a good idea to follow him in his drunken adventures.”

_“isss okay! I wanted to! I told Jayjay I wanna go with him cause I was sad, but now I miss you! I don’t like this place, lots of rude people. Shady too.”_

Conner could actually feel his heart stop at that.

“Timmy, you need to go home. Tell Jay you want to leave okay?”

_“I don’t wanna go home! I wanna be with you! I wanna tell you something real important! Please come and get me?”_

Conner sighed, but he was already getting dressed with his free hand.

“Alright, I will, can you pass the phone to Jay for a sec please? I need him to tell me where you are.”

_“Okay! See you soon! Love you!”_

Conner’s heart jumped at that, and he was starting to think there was something wrong with it, maybe he should go see a cardiologist.

_“Yo Kentucky, whaddup?”_

“Are you drunk too?”

_“Nah, didn’t have anything more to drink after my first glass cause I saw Timmy boy down three shots in ten seconds and I knew I would need to be sober for this.”_

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but thank God for you being a responsible adult. What’s up with him? “

_“Don’t know, he just texted me saying he wanted to go out so I showed up. He looked like a ghost and didn’t say a word to me until he started drinking. At least he’s a happy drunk.”_

“Strange… anyway he wants me to come and get him apparently.”

_“I know, he’s being whining about you for an hour now. You’re coming then?”_

“Don’t really have a choice. Send me the address?”

_“Yeah sure thing. See ya.”_

As soon as Conner received the address, he was out the door and in his car. It didn’t take him too long to find the bar and, just as he feared, it was one with a very bad reputation in terms of clientele. He cursed Jason in his head as he entered. It didn’t take too long to find the two Robins, and what he saw infuriated him. Tim was hiding behind Jason like a child behind his mother as Jason was having a screaming match with a giant of a man, taller than Conner even.

Conner stood tall and started advancing towards them, and once he reached them, he said in an imperious voice:

“What’s going n here?”

“Both the Robins and the stranger turned towards him, and he could see Tim’s eyes light up with happiness and Jason’s with relief.

“Great, you’re here! I was trying to tell this asshole he was not taking my brother home with him, especially since his _boyfriend_ wouldn’t be long!”

Conner looked at him confused before understanding that oh, he was the boyfriend in question in this scenario. He could work with that.

“Is that doll yours then? “ the creep asked.

“He’s his own person thank you very much, but yeah we’re together, problem?”

And just as he said that, Tim migrated from Jason’s arms to his, hanging onto his biceps.

The man looked at them curiously, as if he was wondering if it was even worth putting up a fight, before shrugging.

“I guess not. Should put a leash on ‘im though, you’ll soon lose him if you don’t. a pretty thing like ‘im shouldn’t be left alone, not everyone is as nice as me.”

Jason snorted.

“Yeah right, piss off before you find out how nice I am!”

The man looked at Jason like he was crazy to think he could take him, but did leave anyway.

“Should’ve let him take me home,” Tim said while nuzzling on Conner’s chest.

“I beg your pardon?” Conner asked perplexed.

“Yeah, so I could show him exactly what a pretty thing like me can do. Not sure he would’ve liked it though, no one really likes when parts of their bodies get severed…” Tim said wisely.

Jason and Conner looked at each other dumbfounded, before Jason laughed.

“Sometimes I forget how dangerous you are Tiny. Anyway, I guess you’re taking him home then Kon?”

“Yeah that’s the plan, isn’t it Timmy?”

Tim who was now cuddling up to Conner just lifted his head to meet his eyes and said with a pout:

“I don’t wanna go home though, I wanna stay with you!”

Conner sighed fondly.

“Let’s go back to mine then. Jay can you send a text to Jaime to tell him? I think I’m going to have my attention full for a while,” he added as he was trying to make Tim stop playing with his hair.

“Yeah alright, I’ll tell him. Take care of my brother yeah?”

“Always,” Conner answered solemnly.

Jason then planted a kiss on Tim’s forehead as he giggled like a small child , and left.

It took a long time to get Tim to the car and force him to let go of Conner so he could get behind the wheel, but he managed somehow. The ride home only took fifteen minutes, during which Tim just continuously hummed the Pokémon theme song behind his breath. When they arrived, he insisted Conner had to carry him all the way to the apartment, and Conner didn’t have the heart to refuse.

After another fifteen minutes of hard work, Tim was finally in bed ready to sleep, STILL HANGING onto Conner like a koala.

“hm…. You’re comfortable…”

“Did you just come here because you wanted to use me as a pillow?”

“ ‘S a nice pillow… I can’t sleep…”

“What do you mean you can’t sleep? You’re clearly exhausted.”

“Yeah but I can’t sleep… didn’t drink enough for that yet…”

“I think you drank quite enough.”

“Apparently not since I’m not passed out.”

“You wanted to drink enough to pass out? Really? Doesn’t sound like you.”

“I figured it would work… was wrong… I still have my mind full, it’s just… even more blurry…”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“nah… s’love stuff…”

“I’d be happy to listen. You did say you had something to tell me after all.”

“Yeah but… changed my mind… I’ll tell you later… maybe…”

“Huh. You sure you don’t wanna at least tell me what’s bothering you?”

“S’just… you know how sometimes you love one person so much… and you’d give everything just to see them smile… and you know they would never feel the same way but sometimes you pretend… and you become so good at pretending that it almost becomes real in your mind?”

“I think I know yes.”

“Yeah… well it sucks… but I can’t stop… cause when they like at you with that fond look, like you’re the most interesting person in the world, and they listen to you as if everything you say has a deep meaning and value, and when they just… smile just for you, no one else, then… it’s hard not to start hoping you know?”

Conner swallowed hardly, before saying:

“There’s nothing wrong with hope Tim.”

“There is. Too much hope gets your heart broken. And I’m tired of watching the pieces fall. I’m tired Kon, I just… I just wanna scream: Why can’t you love me? What’s wrong with me? Why can’t you stop chasing after the impossible and just look at me? Why don’t you love me?”

Tim’s voice was so broken every fiber of Conner’s being hurt for him.

“I know I’ve said this before but… who hurt you? Who could have made you feel so desperate? Because that’s a crime. And I feel ready to kill. You’re so breathtaking Tim, inside and out. And you deserve to be treasured. I don’t know how anybody could have you right in front of them and not see you, because really, what else is there to see? If he’s this blind, he’s not worth losing sleep over.”

“I… I just feel so alone…”

“You’re not. I’m here okay? I’ll take care of you until you don’t need me too anymore. You have me.”

Those words were what made Tim start to cry. Conner didn’t know how much it hurt him to hear this. ‘you have me’, but he didn’t.

Conner continued holding him close until he finally calmed down a bit. Then, just before falling asleep, Tim said:

“I wish you loved me…”

And while Conner knew he wasn’t really talking to him _(AN: yes he is you idiot!)_ , he almost automatically answered ‘I do.’

And that’s when he realized. It had happened again. He’d fallen.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

It was a week after the ‘drunken incident’ as Conner had dubbed it, and after panicking for a very long while about all the things him being in love with Tim implied, Conner finally felt at peace with the idea. And this time, he was ready not to let his chance run away from him. He’d given before he had even started with Dick, knowing full well he didn’t stand a chance, but this time he would fight whatever and whoever was standing in his way until Tim was by his side. But first, he needed to let go of the last little remnant of his old feelings, and that came with meeting with Dick and Wally face to face.

He’d started seeing them again months ago, and it was getting easier each time they saw each other, but it was still awkward and they never met the three of them together at the same time. But that was about to change as he’d invited them both out for dinner.

They were sitting in front of him, looking at him worried and confused, as he just stared at them with a slight smile because he’d just realized that for the first time, he actually felt genuinely happy for them, without any pain or sadness clouding it. 

“Um… Kon? You wanted to tell us something?” Wally asked in a small voice.

“Yeah, what is it?” Dick added curious.

“I think you will be happy to know that I no longer have any romantic feelings towards you Dickie. Actually, it’s been a while now since I’ve let go of them, but I can now actually tell you I completely moved on and mean it. “

Dick and Wally looked at each other a bit surprised, not really knowing how to respond to that.

“Oh that… that’s great Kon, and don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy for you, extatic even, but… why do you tell us this now?”

“Because I want things to actually be over, clean cut and all. I don’t want to leave any chance of things still being confused and blurry when I start chasing what I really want, or rather, who. “

“Can um… can we know who it is?” Wally tried slowly.

Conner smirked, feeling playful, and said:

“I don’t know if I should tell you, you might try to still him from me. “

“Dude! Still too soon! “ Wally retorted, but he was laughing out loud , and even Dick let out a nervous chuckle.

“So it’s a boy then? Someone we know?” Dick inquired.

Conner suddenly felt nervous. He didn’t know if it was the best idea to tell Dick he’d fallen for his little brother right now. So he tried to avoid it by saying:

“Can’t tell you that.”

He didn’t kow it was the worst possible way of hiding it to him. Dick, feeling like this phrasing was familiar, search in his mind and then it clicked.

“Oh crap… is it Tim?”

“How did you… I mean…”

“Wait! Kon’s in love with Timmy boy? Little Timmy, your brother?”

Conner looked like he was waiting for the ground to swallow him, while Dick looked dumbfounded. So many things made actual sense now. His entire conversation with Tim felt much clearer, and the reason he wouldn’t tell him. however, it made him feel so guilty for not seeing it before and inflicted so much pain to his precious brother.

He looked back at Conner, who still looked like he was going to die any moment, and suddenly exclaimed:

“I approve!”

“I… what?”

“You and Tim, I approve! You have my benediction! Don’t feel guilty or bad or whatever you’re feeling right now, I think it’s great!”

“I uh.. thank you I guess but um… like nothing’s set in stone yet, I still have to make him fall for me and like, you know that’s the part I actually have a hard time with haha…”

“that was the saddest ‘haha’ I’ve ever heard,” Wally muttered under his breath as Dick just looked at Conner incredulously.

“You mean you don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?”

“You… this is a nightmare, it’s karma for all the time we’ve made all of our friends and family feel hopeless when we wouldn’t realize wee were head over heels for each other Walls. “

“Oh, yeah sure that must be it… what are we talking about again?”

Dick sighed at his boyfriend who was too clueless for his own good and was eyeing Dick’s dessert suspiciously, before sliding the slice of cake his way and saying:

“Here, just stand there, eat and look pretty while the adults are talking.”

“Sweet! Thanks baby!”

Dick rolled his eyes as Conner just stared at Wally fascinated.

“You’ve trained him very well I see. “

“he’s a very good boy when he wants to. Now back to the important part. Conner you know I wouldn’t just tell you to go for it if I thought you didn’t stand a chance right?”

“I… don’t follow?”

“what I mean to say is, I hurt you, a lot. I know you’re going to say it wasn’t my fault, I couldn’t know, you knew what you were getting yourself into, but it doesn’t change the fact that I was the cause of your pain. And because of this, I have a debt. And I won’t rest until you’re happy, and I won’t do anything that could jeopardize you happiness. I also wouldn’t let my baby brother suffer. So if I TELL YOU I THINK YOU AND Tim would do great together, I don’t say it lightly.”

“You mean… you think… you think I might have a chance? Really?”

“I’m ninety-eight percent sure yes.”

“but… he’s been in love with the same person for years… and as far as I know, he hadn’t moved on a week ago, I doubt he has now. “

“Conner… I know you, I know for a fact you’re not stupid.”

“… You think that’s me. You think I’m the one… no. no that’s impossible, he can’t have…”

But then he remembered. ‘Why can’t you love me? What’s wrong with me? Why can’t you stop chasing after the impossible and just look at me? Why don’t you love me?’ he remembered how he’d looked him in the eyes, with this pleading, haunted look as he said ‘I wish you loved me’. And… he’d been so sure he was talking to some unknown asshole, some other idiot, but maybe, just maybe, it had been him. Could it be? Could he be the one?

“I think I’m gonna lose it.” he said calmly , but the look in his eyes was anything but.

“Don’t you dare,” Dick berated him, “this is your chance! Your chance to have everything you’ve wished for. Remember how you pushed us to take our chance, to throw away every worries and doubt just to be with each other? Well, it’s your turn now. Your turn to be brave, to be the courageous Conner I know and love. Platonically of course. “

“Of course, no homo…” Conner still managed to joke. “You’re right, I can’t just give up now, I’m too close. I’ll… I’ll just, go to him and then… no, fuck that’s not… crap. “

“Hey, it’s okay just breathe, and think it over slowly. The right thing will come to you. “

Conner just closed his eyes until his mind started emptying, and then the perfect plan came to him.

“Fuck, I think I know. I think… Oh crap I really need to go, there’s somewhere I need to be before it closes, I’ll just… “ he started looking for his wallet, but Dick stopped him.

“I’ll cover the bill, keep your money for future dates lover boy. “

“Right! Thanks Dickie, I’ll just…”

“Wait a second Superhot!” Wally shouted out of nowhere, apparently finished with the cake, “I need to tell you something before you go.”

“I… wha… okay then tell me, but quick!”

“I just wanted you to know, because Dick will probably not do it cause he’s still to awkward about the whole situation. You know I love you and you’re my main dude forever and always, but Tim is my future husband’s baby brother, which makes him my baby brother also, kinda. So if you ever hurt him, just know that I am not above synthesizing the Kryptonite formula to make my own. Matter of fact, I’m starting tonight, so don’t cross me Kent.”

“I… did you just give me a shovel talk? Really?”

“well, yeah. Someone had to, and I didn’t feel like clling Jason, dude creeps me out still.”

“I… where has my life gone to?” Conner wondered at loud at the very same time that Dick said:

“I am so attracted to you right now baby.”

Deciding he didn’t want to hear the rest of this conversation, Conner fled the scene, making his way to the nearest music shop as fast as he could.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Just like every day this week, Tim was being pampered by his best friends who decided if he was going to be depressed, then he absolutely had to let them treat him like a baby. Jason had even been crashing their place so he could help the other two in their mother hen endeavors.

Then suddenly, Jason received a text which made him almost fall of his chair as he read it, his eyes as big as oranges. He then excitedly got up to show it to Jaime who let out a squeal, then whispered something in Bart’s ear which made him shout ‘OH MY GOD!’ before they all rushed to the litchen to continue talking in a hushed tone while Tim just laid on the couch confused but too lazy to get up and spy. When they came back, Jason forced him to go take a shower and change. When he told him he didn’t want to go out , he answered:

“I’m not taking you out, probably ever after ladt time. I just want you to look more presentable, caus ewe have to stare at your sorry ass all day, the least you could do is give us something appealing to look at. “

“I didn’t ask you to take care of me you know…”

“Shut up and go take a shower you heathen. “

“Ugh, fine! You’re all terrible and I hate you!”

He heard a chorus of ‘We love you too Timmy!’ as well as Bart saying he’ll choose some clothes for him and leave them on his bed.

He went to the shower and stayed longer than he needed to, just because he was pissed at his friends and didn’t want to see them yet, and also it was far too relaxing. When he got out, he went to put the clothes Bart had chosen for him, and saw he’d chosen black skinny jeans, which made him roll his eyes because, why did he have to subject his legs to suffocation in his own home when Jaime was wearing sweat pants 24 /7 and Jason was basically naked every day (it wasn’t even his place, seriously this guy had no shame.) but when he saw the t shirt, he suddenly grew embarrassed and his cheeks became all red: Bart had apparently found his (very well hidden) Superboy t-shirt and had decided it was a good idea to add it to his outfit. He had half a mind to just throw whatever other shirt he could find on and call it a day, but he felt like he shouldn’t let Bart know he was embarrassed, that would make too happy. He ended up just going with the original outfit. Once that was done, he finally noticed that the place was suspiciously silent. Frowning, he decided to go investigate. When he got to the living room, he didn’t find his idiotic friend group. He found Conner, sitting on the couch looking nervous.

“Wha… Conner? What are you doing here?”

“Tim!” Conner jumped up of his sit, looking more and more like a nervous wreck every second, “I was waiting for you actua… oh wow…” he stopped as he saw what Tim was wearing.

Tim, seeing where his eyes had fallen on his t shirt, started blushing even more than before, and Conner just cleared his throat and said:

“You um… you look good… I um… like this on you…”

“Oh… thanks I guess… was there something you wanted?”

“Yes actually I… wow this is going to be hard not losing my train of thoughts…. No Conner focus! You got this!”

Tim could honestly say he had never seen Conner look this panicked or agitated in his life, nor did he think it would ever happen.

“Is everything alright Kon? You’re starting to worry me…”

“No no, I’m fine! I just… um… actually, I came to give you a gift.”

“Oh… really? Again? You’re spoiling me too much…”

“You deserve to be spoiled. This one is really special though. I mean…. I’ll just show it to you so you’ll understand. “

Conner just reached behind the couch and grabbed a guitar case just as Tim was making his way towards him. he timidly handed it over to Tim who carefully opened it and found an absolutely stunning white guitar inside.

“I… wow Conner…. It’s so beautiful…. Thank you so much… but… why did you buy me a guitar?”

“I… well it’s… first, I wanted to gift you something ith a deep meaning to our relationship, because well, music is an important part of…us… and also… I… I needed to tell you something, but I knew I would never be able to tell you outright.”

“I’m not sure I understand what’s going on…”

“You’ll get it in a minute… can I borrow your guitar for a sec? I promise I’ll give it back and it will be all yours, I just… I need to do something with it first.”

“O… of course, here.”

“Thanks. Please don’t be to harsh of a critic, this is my first performance ever and as you can see I’m really nervous, so be indulgent…”

Tim didn’t know what Conner was talking about, he always played for Tim, and he was a great guitar player, so he didn’t see what could be so nerve wracking, until Conner started singing.

“ _You walked into the room and now my heart has been stolen_  
You took me back in time to when I was unbroken  
Now you're all I want  
And I knew it from the very first moment  
'Cause a light came on when I heard that song and I want you to sing it again

 _I swear that every word you sing, you wrote them for me_  
Like it was a private show, I know you never saw me  
When the lights come on and I'm on my own  
Will you be there to sing it again?  
Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories  
Can I be him? “

Tim couldn’t believe his ears. Was this the voice Conner had been so adamant on hiding from the world? Because this was a crime. Although you could hear how nervous he was by the trembling of his voice, Tim couldn’t have found it more perfect if he tried. His voice was very different from his own, a lot deeper, raspier too. It was like honey to Tim’s hear.

After internally fanboying over Conner’s voice, Tim took note of two things: one, Conner was singing to him, when he’d said he wouldn’t ever sing to anyone, safe for maybe one person, ‘the’ one person he would want to share everything with. Then, he listened to the lyrics of the song and, oh. Oh dear, it was clear now: Conner was _serenading him._

He felt so many things at once. Panic, confusion, fear, but also so much relief, hope, happiness and love. The tears started falling before he even processed what was happening to him.

_“I heard there was someone but I know he don't deserve you_  
If you were mine I'd never let anyone hurt you, no, no  
I wanna dry those tears, kiss those lips  
It's all that I've been thinking about  
'Cause a light came on when I heard that song and I want you to sing it again

 _I swear that every word you sing, you wrote them for me_  
Like it was a private show, but I know you never saw me  
When the lights come on and I'm on my own  
Will you be there to sing it again?  
Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories?

_Can I be him?”_

All throughout the song, Conner had been focused on the guitar, not daring to look at Tim, so when he finished , he was scared of what he might be met with. He managed to lift his head to look at him anyway, and was met with a sight he wasn’t about to forget. Tim was staring at him, his eyes still full of tears but aso shining with something else, something so bright and beautiful. He was looking right at him, staring at his soul, trying to decipher every part of him, and Conner was surprised to find out he didn’t actually mind. he just stared back with all the love he felt at that moment, and waited for Tim to say something.

“That was a very beautiful song Kon…”

“yeah? I’m glad you liked it. I’m not really good with words, so I borrowed this song so I could tell you what I needed to say. But every word I sang, I meant.”

“You… you sang to me.”

“I did.”

“You said you’d only sing for one person. You chose me.”

“ I’m not sure I chose you exactly. My heart chose for me. But I’m glad it did, because it clearly knew what it was doing. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. So I sang to you, and I’d sing to you again as many time as you wanted if you wanted me to. What I’m trying to say is… I’m still not sure I’m not making a mistake telling you, not sure if what I think I noticed from you is real or if I’m just deluding myself, but what I’m sure of is that I love you. I love you far more than I could have ever loved anyone else, and I could never fall again as hard in my life , I’m certain of it. And I don’t know if me loving you this deeply means you might love me too, but I’m hoping you might, because… because I just want to be with you. I want to give you everything you’ve been missing, I want to make sure you never feel alone again. And if you don’t want that, that’s fine… but… I’m really hoping you do. I’m really hoping I can be him.”

Tim stared at him for a few more second, a smile slowly gaining his face, before carefully taking the guitar off of Conner’s hands and putting it aside so he could come closer and put a hand on Conner’s cheek.

“you weren’t deluding yourself, you are him. you’ve always been him.”

And without another word, Tim kissed him. and Gods, were the emotions running through intense. It was like every single feelings came crashing against each other as they were in the middle, linked to each other. It was like a storm and a calm sun set all at once. It was shocking and full of force, but also soothing, tender and caring. It was just… unbelievable and grandiose.

When they stopped for air, as Conner held Tim in his arms, the younger started laughing softly between two sobs, and repeating in a whisper, but loud enough for Conner to hear him clearly:

“I love you, I love you, I love you…”

“Why do you keep saying it? not that I don’t love it, because I do.”

“I just… I realized how much I needed to hear you say it when the words came out of your mouth, how amazing and relieving it felt jus to hear it. and I… fuck, I just thought you really needed to hear them too. Yu need to know, because I don’t know anyone who deserves to be loved more than you do. And I do. I love you so fucking much, I have for so long and I don’t think it will ever stop.”

Conner realized then that yes, it did feel good to hear it. to feel loved, to feel wanted, especially by the only person he wanted to hear it from.

“I can’t believe it was me all this time. I was ready to square up and fight this foolnwho broke your heart, but that was me…”

“it’s okay, you’ve just fixed it. now it’s all brand new again, and it’s yours.”

Conner pecked Tim on the lips.

“I’ll take very good care of it, I’ll guard it with my life if I have to.”

“hm, I don’t doubt it. sing to me again? “ Tim added as he placed himself in Conner’s arms, his back pressed to his chest.

Conner smiled in Tim’s neck as he’d rested his head on his shoulder, before singing again, very kind on keeping his promise: he’d sing for the love of his life as many times as he wanted him to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AJDFGHRZPKSDP I CANT I JUST CANT  
> CONNER WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS LIKE OMG I JUST  
> AND TIMMY MY POOR BABY BOY YOU JUST NEEDED SOME LOVE I JUST  
> I LOVE THEM  
> I WANNA GIVE THEM EVERYTHING  
> ok I'm done. lol.  
> Next chapter: Robpulse (or Barmian as a certain someone would say 😉 💖 )


	15. Hufflepuff Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> two loyal beans being platonic soulmates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAH IM NOT DEAD YOU THOUGHT  
> Yeah so I've been working on this one for so long now it was a tough one lol. it was supposed to be a retrospective on just Bart and Damian but it ended up being well... the most representative of all my fic can be so basically, a mess lol. but I kinda lowkey love it? yeah highkey even.  
> anyway enjoy.

Damian was used to having tons of older brothers at this point. Be it his “official” three brothers, or their romantic partners, or just any older male figure from their friend group he came into contact with for more than two hours really. Somehow he became the token little brother without ever meaning to.

But with Bart, it was different. While the speedster loved to say Damian was a baby that needed protecting, he never felt belittled by him. He never tried to tell him he was too young to do something, or to understand a certain concept. He’d talk to him like he would any other of his friends, tell him about his life, ask him about his, sometimes even would ask for his opinion on a particular subject, genuinely interested in his input.

So it was no surprise that he actually enjoyed spending time with him, and while everyone else would have to initiate any hang outs with him, he found himself actually seeking Bart’s company. The fact that Bart never refused made it so that they were now seeing each other at least once a week.

Bart knew absolutely everything about Damian’s life. Not because he was particularly eager to share it, but because whenever he’d ask, Damian felt compelled to answer, and in detail. He didn’t even realize he was doing it, he’d always liked listening more than talking anyway. But Bart had this amazing people skill, it just made you want to share things with him. So Bart was always the first to know when anything of importance happened to Damian. And sometimes he even said things he didn’t exactly know the meaning of himself exactly, but Bart got it anyway.

But, while Damian the seemingly closed off pre-teen was opening up to Bart, Bart on the other hand, who appeared to be an open book on the surface, was always keeping a part of himself hidden, in an attempt to shield Damian from the darkness.

He thought Damian wouldn’t notice, but he did. He noticed that there was times when Bart would lose his spark, become more gloom and tired. Times when he wouldn’t want to get out of bed wouldn’t see anyone not even his best friends or boyfriend. And yet, even in those moments, he wouldn’t say no to Damian. And once Damian realized that, he felt bad at first, that Bart would ignore his own feelings and needs for him, but then he realized it was his chance to make sure whatever Bart was going through in those moments, he wouldn’t be alone to deal with them. But he didn’t know how to make him open up to him. he wasn’t one for tact of diplomacy, all he knew how to do was to be brutally honest.

And so that’s what he did.

“You know you’re not fooling me right?”

They were on their way back from the movie theater, and Bart was babbling as usual, seemingly happier than ever, except, that was an obvious lie.

“What do you mean?” he asked confused.

“You’re not happy right now.”

“What? Of course I am, that’s ridiculous!”

“No you’re not. You always go over the top whenever you want to prove you’re happy. You laugh a little too loud and at things that aren’t that funny, like during the film for example, you talk even faster than usual, and you find everything you talk about absolutely “amazing” or “totally awesome”. Also you always make sure we don’t go anywhere near your apartment and your friends. I’m not dumb.”

“… You shouldn’t worry about that, it’s not your responsibility. I’ll be fine; I always manage to be in the end. “

Damian looked at him blankly for a while, before saying:

“You know what I learned about friendship? It’s never a one way street. So if you can worry about me, I can do the same for you. And if you can do anything in your power to make sure I get better, I should be able to do the same for you.”

“… you can’t help me, no one can. This is something I have to deal with on my own.”

“How long have you been dealing with it on your own exactly?”

“I don’t know, since I was four maybe? It’s just a part of me, sometimes I start to feel completely void and depressed. I can’t help it. I just need to pull through every time, but I always manage so don’t worry.”

“Would you accept that in my place? Accept to do nothing when someone close is suffering in silence? I’m not saying I’m going to be much help, but I can try at least. You don’t have to hide your pain Bart, it’s okay not to be happy all the time. Actually, no one is ever happy all the time, so you don’t have anything to be ashamed of.”

Bart stopped walking to sat down on a bench, suddenly tired.

“It’s just… I’m so used to it by now. No matter how well my life is going, the smallest thing can trigger all those thoughts back. And shutting down was always the way to deal with it for me ever since I came to the past. I don’t know how to do things differently.”

Damian sat down next to him.

“Just let people be there for you. It’s what you always tell me to do right? To not be scared to let people in, especially not if it’s because I think I don’t deserve it. because this only means I need it even more. I think all the advices you give me, somehow they’re things you’d have like to hear yourself. Well maybe you should start listening to yourself. “

“… How can you already be so mature at twelve years old?”

“Someone has to be in this mess we call a family. Will you try and reach out to someone ? I mean I probably am not the right person for the job, I get that, but someone else, like Jaime, or Tim.”

“… I will, I promise. If it makes you feel better.”

“I want YOU to feel better Bart. Oh and you know you don’t always have to say yes every time I want to hang out right? If you’re not feeling like it, a no once in a while won’t kill me.”

Bart smiled again at that, a small smile but far more sincere than any of those he had given that day.

“I always feel up for it. You might not believe me but, you’re kind of my happy pill.”

“Me? A happy pill? You’re really not okay.”

“No really! Despite your constant grumpiness , you’re always so precious and cute and that makes me forget about my dark thoughts for a while and remind me there are still pure things in this world.”

“You’re insane.”

“Heh, probably. But anyway, as you said yourself, friendship is never a one way street. I always accept to hang out with you because I want to. Got it?”

“Yeah, sure, okay.”

This conversation had the effect Damian wanted. While Bart didn’t stop having those down moments, he didn’t try to hide them anymore.

One day when he was hanging out at the trio’s apartment, Jaime unexpectedly came to Damian to thank him.

“You’ve made something click in his brain. Not a lot of people realize this but, Bartie’s actually one of the most stubborn people I’ve ever met, and you’ve made him change is mind. I could never thank you enough for this. I was starting to get desperate , I didn’t know how to help him and that drove me crazy.”

“You don’t have to thank me; I didn’t do anything special anyway. I guess I’m just even more stubborn. Besides, he’s always doing so much for me, it was the least I could do.”

Jaime looked at him with a frown for a few seconds, which made him a bit self conscious, before saying.

“You never give yourself enough credit. You always seem to think whatever good action you do is ‘no big deal’. “

“Because it isn’t. I used to think no one deserved my kindness, I used to think being nasty and rude and an actual demon was the way to go. But in reality, doing nice things usually doesn’t cost me anything. It’s far less exhausting than to pretend to be the monster I was raised to be. Not with everyone of course, I still would annihilate any idiot who would dare cross me, but, if someone earns my trust, then it’s not really hard to just do the right thing by them.” Damian finished with a shrug, thinking it was a pretty logical and normal thing to say.

“… Now I know why you and Bart get along so well. You’re both hardcore Hufflepuffs.”

“I’m sorry what?”

“Damian you just described the concept of unwavering loyalty in your own weird little way. That’s what you strive to be, you and Bart both. Loyal to the core. You’re both very different in so many ways, you have different qualities, different mindsets and interests, but when it comes down to it, you both agree on what’s the most important to you: you never, ever give up on the ones you love. You’re not stubborn for selfish reasons, you’re driven by the idea that if there’s anything you can do to make the life of someone close better, you just gotta do it until you succeed. And I think that’s beautiful.”

Damian looked at him in disbelief.

“… Did you just analyze mine and Bart’s personalities just so you could conclude what Hogwarts house we would be in? What are you, the Sorting hat? “

“Might as well be, I’m never wrong when it comes to sorting. Tim is jealous of that. “

“You’re impossible. By the way I’m so not a Hufflepuff. Slytherin is the only house worth my time.”

Jaime didn’t answer and just smiled, but Damian could see he wasn’t buying it at all.

“Did I ever tell you about how I met Tim?” Jaime suddenly said.

“Wasn’t it something to do with you both being in danger from a psycho and other Bart and me coming to your rescue?”

“I mean, sure, but I didn’t tell you how it actually happened. Basically, Bart saved my life first, and took me back to your safe house. Then I met you, and I honestly thought you were so cool, you seemed so calm and collected, like you had your whole life under control, which now that I’m older, you probably didn’t, you were only sixteen at the time, but whatever. And the very next day, out of nowhere, you told me we were going on an adventure to save someone. Can you imagine how excited I was to be going in an entirely new city with a superhero to save someone? Of course that someone ended up being Tim and that was even better, and then we got to see you in action when you fought a guy trying to take Tim away, and what I’m trying to say is that I was totally starstruck by the other you at the time. A part of me wanted to be just like you when I would be older. But now that I see you, and I get to see you grow up, well, I’m even more impressed by who you’re becoming, not because I have an idea of what it will be, but because of the journey you’re going through and the path you’re choosing. Honestly you’re an inspiration Damian. I hope you know it and never doubt yourself.”

Damian, as always not knowing how to handle so many compliments at one. Just nodded in silence, desperately hoping Jaime would change the subject soon, which he ended up knowing.

He never did tell him that when he got home that day and logged onto Pottermore, he indeed was sent into Hufflepuff. He’d rather keep that secret for himself, although he now had a newfound appreciation for what the house represented at its core. But no one needed to know that.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Bart’s new favorite pastime was observing the growing relationship between Damian and Jon.

It was fascinating to watch them interact with each other, and it was the purest, most caring relationship he had ever witnessed. And while people would often focus on Damian being Jon’s protector and being willing to do anything to make him smile, Bart could also see how devoted Jon was to him in return.

Jon would always carry a few of Damian’s favorite snack bars in his backpack, he would get genuinely upset if he wasn’t properly dressed for the cold, he’d make him send him a text every time he came back from a mission, no matter how late it was so he was sure he was okay. Honestly whoever called Damian overprotective should take a look and Jon’s mother bear tendencies. Not to mention that Jon was of course the most affectionate of the two, and wasn’t afraid to initiate physical contact. He was however really mindful of Damian’s reactions, and for a long time, he would ask before hugging or even just slightly touching him, until Damian told him it was okay. He still asked on occasions, if Damian was having a particularly bad day or if he was tired. Basically, for all of Jon’s innocence and optimistic outlook on the world, he was in no way naïve and was very perceptive when it came to everything Damian related.

He was also very against anyone saying anything against his best friend. He would defend him tooth and nails against anyone, as Bart learned one day soon after they’d turned twelve and Damian started going to school with Jon.

Conner had come by the trio’s apartment to drop something, Bart couldn’t tell you what exactly, and he’d brought Jon with him. as Conner decided to go say hello to Tim and do whatever those two did when they were alone at that time when they were obviously head over heels for each other but still not dating (which was frustrating for Bart but he figured he’d already meddled with Conner’s love life too much anyway) Bart stayed with Jon to keep him company. Immediately, he noticed how moody Jon seemed to be. His usual bright smile was replaced by a frown, and he seemed deep In thought.

“ Hey, Jonnie? Is everything alright?”

Jon opened his mouth to answer but then stopped himself, seemingly weighing whether or not it was a good idea to talk. Then he huffed and said with his arms crossed:

“No, I’m pissed.”

Trying not to coo because even like that, Jon was still adorable, Bart answered:

“ I can see that. is there any particular reason?”

“There’s this idiot at school who had the audacity to insult Damian!”

“…Ah. And what happened? Please tell me Damian didn’t kill him, I would rather not have to bail him out of jail.”

“No that’s the thing§ Damian did nothing! absolutely nothing to defend himself! I know for a fact if that guy had said anything against me, he would have charged at him without even thinking, but he attacked him and he did nothing! It doesn’t make any sense!”

“Oh…. Well maybe he didn’t feel like it was important?”

“ Why wouldn’t he? He should have stood up for himself! It’s not okay! It must have affected him!”

“has it though? Maybe he couldn’t care less what that idiot thinks of him. “

“I know Damian, most people think he doesn’t, but he does care about what people think of him. so he must have cared! And he’s not the type to let someone disrespect him, so why did he?”

Bart had to think about it for a second. This was more complex than what he would usually deal with. Finally, the solution seemed to come to him.

“What did you do when it happened? If Damian didn’t react, what did you do?”

“I defended him of course! No one insults my best friend and gets away with it!”

“There you go!” Bart clapped his hands, satisfied, as if it explained everything.

“What do you mean there you go?” Jon frowned even deeper, confused.

“You defended him. you had his back. How could he even care about what this kid had to say when you were there to protect him?”

“I…what?”

“Jonnie, look. You’re right, Damian does care more than a lot of people give him credit for. He cares about the way he’s seen by the world, but most importantly he cares about the way he’s seen by you. And the fact that you, who hates confrontation and for a long time would let anyone walk all over you because you were afraid of hurting them if you retaliated, would be willing to fight to defend his honor, well that’s all that must have mattered to him. you gave him confirmation that whatever that other kid said, you didn’t see him that way. So he actually wasn’t even bothered by the attack on his character, because he wasn’t alone.”

“So… so you think he’s alright? That he’s not hurt and trying to hide it? “

“Were you worried about that?”

“Of course I was… I know that everyone thinks I’m this innocent little bean that needs protecting from all the evils in the world, especially Dami. And… I know sometimes, when he’s hurt, he won’t tell me so he won’t upset me but… I wanna know. So maybe that made me little paranoid…”

“You’re not being paranoid, you just care a lot, and that’s okay. Just don’t keep that all inside you until it makes you bitter next time yeah? And right now, you can stop being worried about Damian. As long as he has you, he’s okay.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so. But don’t take my word for it, ask him, he’ll confirm it.”

“No, I believe you… you always seem to know exactly what’s going on in Dami’s brain. Is that like a kind of super power or something? Cause if that is, can we trade? You can have my heat vision, I don’t really like it, too dangerous.”

Bart burst out laughing.

“You’re too cute for your own good. I’m pretty sure it’s not a super power though, but you’re not so bad yourself you know? You might not understand him in the same way I do, but your bond is strong, one of the strongest I’ve ever seen. So no need to trade your heat vision, who know, you might need it one day.”

“Shame, here I thought I might finally get rid of it!”

Bart was still laughing when Conner came back with Tim in tow and said that it was time to go. Jon hugged Bart goodbye, saying thank you, and then waved to Tim who smiled in return then ran out the door to get downstairs to the car, not even waiting for his brother who just sighed.

“I better get down there before he starts the car himself.”

“You do that Connie, but before you go, I have a question” Bart said.

“What is it?”

“You’re the one who arranged for Jon and Dami to meet. Did you do it just because they were around the same age, or was there another motivation?”

Conner shared a look with Tim, the kind of look everyone who had met the other Bart and Damian shared when either one of them asked them something that might have to do with that.

“What are you trying to find out exactly Bart?” Conner said carefully

“I just want to know if you’ve been playing Cupid, Supercute.”

“ha! Haven’t heard this one in a while,” Conner commented on the nickname with a fond smile, “I am neither denying nor confirming that statement. I can however tell you that if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that those two aren’t meant to be apart.”

“hm, I see. You may go now, on your way soldier.”

Conner rolled his eyes, gave Tim a soft smile that made Bart want to scream ‘JUST KISS ALREADY!’ and was on his way.

“Please tell me you’re not going to go on a matchmaking rampage,” Tim said as soon as the door closed.

“Oh no, they’re far too young for me to force ideas of love on them. Besides, I’ve learned to let time and feelings run their course. If something is meant to happen, it will. And if I am meant to play a part in it, I will in due time.”

“I hate when you’re wise, I’m supposed to be the wise one!”

“No, you’re the genius one. But geniuses are not always the wisest.”

“Ah, true. In any case, I can’t wrap my head around the fact my little bro might be in love with Baby Sups.”

“Well, at least now we know which brother he takes after the most,” Bart responded with a wink before leaving an annoyed Tim behind him.

Thinking about what he’d told Jon, he realized that it applied to him too. He didn’t have to worry about Damian: as long as he had Jon by his side, he would be just fine.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

“Jaime?”

“Yes Cariño?”

“Why did you buy me a scarf?”

“Oh I did buy it, I had Dick knit it for you. So if it’s lumpy in some parts you know who to blame.”

“fine, why did you make Dick knit a scarf for me?”

“Cause you’d look cute in it.”

“uhhh… okay? Thanks I guess. It’s a nice scarf, I like it! I especially like the colors!”

“I know right? Black and yellow, great color scheme!”

In the background, Tim was groaning and muttering about Jaime being an idiot and wrong, and Jason was chuckling .

“Am I missing something?”

“Don4t worry about it. hey, tell you what, if you like the scarf so much, I’ll have Dick knit you a matching beanie how’s that sound?”

“Aww you’re so cute! I’d love that! “

He was about to launch himself into his boyfriend’s arms, when he suddenly received a text. He checked and noticed it was from Damian.

‘ _Tell your boyfriend that he won, I admit to it, but please can he stop sending me Hufflepuff merch now, my room is filled with black and yellow I can’t deal with this. Also Jon saw the scarf and now I’m not allowed to take it off I’m suffocating please make this nightmare end.’_

“… Jaime?”

“Yes Cariño?”

“Care to explain this text to me?” Bart asked while handing his phone to Jaime who read the text and threw his head back in laughter. He took a few seconds to calm down before responding:

“Well, I figured Damian might need a scarf too, you know since it’s winter and we wouldn’t want him getting cold. “

“Wait, Damian got a scarf too? What about me traitor?! I’m the only real Potterhead here!”

“Not to mention he truly needs one, with his weak ass immune system,” Jason added with a smirk, narrowly escaping the blow Tim tried to inflict upon him.

“Well, I would have had one made for you Timmy, but since you keep insisting you’re a Gryffindor when you’re the most obvious Ravenclaw the world has ever seen, I cannot in good conscience encourage you in your sinning. “

“You’re just jealous because I’m Mcgonagall’s spiritual son! “

“Okay hold on let’s just stop for a second so someone can explain to me what’s going on here!” Bart interrupted.

“Simple darling,” Jason intervened helpfully, “Timmy here is obsessed with Harry Potter since the dawn of time, he has forced us to read all the books and watch all the movies at least a hundred times when we were younger. And at one point, I don’t know how it started, but Tim and Jaime got into some sort of competition to find out who had the most accurate sorting analysis. Whenever they meet someone, they sort them and they never end up with the same house. Except once. They both agreed that Alfred was a Slytherin for some reason, I don’t really understand how they came to that conclusion.”

“I... I’m so confused… so the scarf?”

“It’s because you’re an obvious Hufflepuff, and so is Damian! “

“Wrong! On both accounts! Bart is a Gryffindor and Damian is a Slytherin!”

“You’re insane! You’ve lost your touch! That’s why I have won every single bet we’ve made for the last four years!”

“You’re the one who isn’t thinking straight! We’ll settle this once and for all!”

“Okay not to interrupt this… whatever this is, but I still don’t understand… what the heck is sorting exactly?”

Silence fell, and Bart knew he’d just messed up bad. It took Tim thirty seconds before he exploded.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT THE HECK IS SORTING?! ARE YOU TELLING ME YOU’VE NEVER SEEN HARRY POTTER?!”

“Well…. No? I mean none of you put it on the list so…”

“THAT’S BECAUSE I ASSUMED YOUR GOOD FOR NOTHING BOYFRIEND WOULD SHOW YOU THIS MASTERPIECE!”

“Hey, I always thought you’d showed it to him!”

“it doesn’t matter now, we’re having a marathon right this instant! Bartie dear, sit your ass down in this couch and don’t you dare move for the next nineteen hours and thirty nine minutes!”

And that’s the story of how Bart watched Harry Potter for the first time (and subsequently became obsessed) . He did do his Pottermore sorting after watching the first four films, and to no one surprise but Tim, he was indeed sent in Hufflepuff.

Needless to say, Bart and Damian had lots of pictures of them in matching scarves taken that Christmas, with a sulking Tim in a Ravenclaw scarf in the background of most of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, I first of all with the controversial stuff.  
> Yeah I knoooow most of you are gonna tell me Damian is an obvious Slytherin or whatever, but I don't see things that way. to me Damian is hardworking, he doesn't take shortcuts. he's been training to becpme the best assassin since he was a smol child (and yeah I know assassin whatever but Slytherin doesn't mean evil or dark damn it ) and I think he is indeed very ambitious like a Slytherin, and he has the intellect, but he's more driven and he doesn't mind working towards his goal. also he's so freaking loyal, like you can't tell me otherwise. and anyway when it comes to my fics I take a lot of liberties with my characters o my Dami is definetly a Hufflepuff. doesn't mean he's a pushover, he can still cut you if you cross him, whoever said all Hufflepuffs are always nice and fluffy obviously haven't read the books properly lol ever heard of Epzibah and Zachariah Smith? yeah thought so.  
> bart is also a tough one to place, I think he'd be a hat stall because he's got the bravery, the cunning, the drive, the loyalty and the intellect. it all comes down to what he values the most, and I think he values friendship, family and kindness above all else.  
> and Tim well, I think Tim is kinda like me in some way when he was Ypung he wanted to be brave so he fancied himself a Gryffindor, perhaps was even sorted into Gryffindor (I'm officially a Gryffindor) but ultimately his thirst for knowledge is stronger. he could also do well in Slytherin, but I'm pretty sure Ravenclaw is the house for him. (Just like I'm probably either a closet Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw lol but I'mma stick to my official house even though I'd love to be a badger damn it)  
> I need to stop rambling about sorting. feel free to disagree with me in the comments, also if you'd like to know where I'd put the rest of the characters, as well as fun facts and tidbits about the series like anecdotes about the characters that I thought about but never managed to include in the story, I might put them all somewhere soon for you to read and share your thoughts and ask me questions cause I honestly have so much backstory that's wasted .  
> yeah so if you're interested tell me down in the comments kay bye now! <3
> 
> Next Chapter: JayRoy is rising from the dead again praise the gods


	16. The Archer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Easy they come, easy they go  
> I jump from the train, I ride off alone  
> I never grew up, it's getting so old  
> Help me hold onto you  
> I've been the archer  
> I've been the prey  
> Who could ever leave me, darling?  
> But who could stay?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there!  
> So, as promised, JayRoy is back and so soft I'm melting lol.  
> it's a weird chapter honeslty, it wasn't supposed to go this way at all but let's say I got... inspired lol.  
> Anyway hope you enjoy xxx

A few years ago, Roy wouldn’t have been able to say what he could today: Life was good.

He had a semi stable and healthy lifestyle, custody of his darling daughter who was the light of his existence, and an actual social life with people he could rely on . Oh and also, he had Jason.

Falling for him hadn’t been a surprise. It hadn’t come suddenly without him realizing. It had been a step by step thing, his feelings growing the more he’d spend time with the younger.

It didn’t mean he didn’t have moments where he panicked. he had had a disastrous love life in the past after all. But with all that he’d done to pick himself from the ground up after Bart and Damian had made him realize he indeed had a future, after years of struggling to get all the mess in his head in order, well, it was easier for him to deal with it.

So he didn’t get big fits of hysteria, he didn’t feel horribly depressed at the prospect of unrequited love, and he didn’t feel the need to hide his feelings from Jason at any cost. He figured, if he ended up finding out, the worse that could happen was rejection and a few awkward days maybe, but they’d move on from it.

So he just kept on going, not expecting anything more than what he’d already received.

Except, sometimes, Jason was really not playing fair. Especially not when Roy would decline hanging out because he had to take care of Lian and Jason would just decide that those plans worked perfectly for him and come hang out at Roy’s apartment instead and proceed to devote all his attention to Lian. He was absolutely perfect with her, and Roy could see he loved her just as much as Roy himself did, and honestly how could he not secretly daydream about Jason joining his little family when he behaved like that? it was truly unfair of him.

Lian didn’t seem to be against the idea either, if the conversation he had had with her one evening was anything to go by.

He’d just put her to bed and finished reading her a story, a generic fairytale that ended with ‘And they lived happily ever after and had plenty of kids’ , when she suddenly said, seemingly out of nowhere:

“Can I have two daddies?”

Roy frowned:

“Am I not good enough for you anymore darling?”

“Noooooooo! You’re the best daddy in the world! I love you very much!”

“Aw I love you too baby. Why do you want two daddies then?”

“My friend Penny has two daddies and they’re very nice and they smile a lot and I like them. They love her a lot, and they love each other too. I think it’s nice. I want that too. “

“huh. It does seem nice. Am I supposed to find a husband or something is that what you’re telling me?”

“Silly daddy! You already have one!”

“I do? I wasn’t aware. Where is he? I’dl like to meet him. “

“It’s uncle JayJay! You two are gonna get married and he’s gonna be Daddy JayJay! “

Well, that was a surprise. He didn’t exactly know how to respond to that, but he tried anyway:

“Not that I don’t like that plan, cause it’s actually a great one, but I’m not sure Uncle JayJay would agree honey.”

“Yes he will! He always looks at you like Penny’s daddies look at each other! You should kiss him and tell him you want lots of babies! “

“I…what?”

“Uncle Dickie says it’s what big people do when they love someone.”

“what did I tell you about listening to your uncle Dickie?”

“To not do it cause he’s a dummy?”

“Exactly. He’s a dummy .”

“But I think it’s a good idea though! Cause Uncle JayJay is the best! He always plays lego with me and he’s really pretty as a princess! Also he buys me ice cream when I’m good! So can he be my daddy too please?”

“… I’ll see what I can do baby. It’s time to sleep now okay?”

“Okay, good night daddy, I love you!”

“Love you more darling.”

When he went to bed himself that night, he couldn’t help but to replay the conversation in his head a hundred times. Maybe Lian was right, maybe he did need to do something about his feelings. Maybe it would work out for the better.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

It was a quiet afternoon, and Roy was just enjoying the absolute silence of Jason’s apartment. Artemis had taken Lian on a trip for a few days, and Roy actually hated staying in his own apartment when his daughter wasn’t there with him. it felt void without her laughter. So he ‘d just flee to Jason’s most of the time. That particular day, Jason was seemingly working on a very hard case, his nose plunged into a file, which didn’t happen often, he usually preferred being on the field. Roy was lounging on the couch, whistling under his breath as he stared at the ceiling. Suddenly, Jason received a text. He read it, frowned, then closed his file and said out of the blue:

“Hey, let’s go on a date. “

Roy, not even thinking about it, answered:

“Sure, sounds fun. Wait what?”

It had taken a few seconds for the information to reach his brain it seemed.

“Oh right, perhaps I should explain. Basically I’ve infiltrated this very weird crime network. It’s weird cause they’re basically just suburban men and women who live in a white picket fence neighborhood and enjoy all the most boring stuff but also they’re dangerous criminal with a blood lust? Yeah the world is getting weird man. Anyway so I’ve been undercover for two months now and I’ve integrated pretty well not to brag. But whenever I can’t hang with them I tell them I have a date with my partner. So they’re growing curious, especially since Tiffany wants to hook me up with her daughter. That’s the days when she doesn’t try to get in my pants behind her husband’s back, but whatever. Anyway so they’re having a party to celebrate Beth’s – that’s Tiffany’s daughter by the way- getting into Princeton, and they told me to bring my date. So like, you game?”

“… I have so many questions. So this is what you get yourself into when I’m not there? Honestly this doesn’t even surprise me that much. And you want me to be your date?”

“Well it’s either you or Babs, and she’d ask for something embarrassing in return, besides I would rather not have to act like I’m in love with her the whole night.”

“But you don’t mind doing it with me?”

“I mean at least you’re not my kinda sibling so there’s that. “

“I feel so loved. Fine, let’s do it, not like I had anything else planned for tonight anyway.”

Roy knew it was probably the worst idea in the world, fake/pretend relationship always ended up being a mess in fanfictions, but he figured, one night couldn’t hurt that much. Also he had a bone to pick with that Tiffany now.

It was scary how easy it was for them to switch from their normal bantering relationship to looking like an actual couple as soon as they enter the famous Tiffany’s house. She was of course the one to greet them, and seemed pretty impressed by Jason’s choice in romantic partners, if the way she’d let her hand wander on Roy’s biceps was anything to go by. Jason had playfully told her to ‘back off his man’ , but as she’d laughed, Roy couldn’t help to notice that there was a sharpness in Jason’s eyes that hadn’t been there before. Maybe it was just his imagination.

Jason paraded Roy around, introducing him to everyone he knew at that party (which was basically everyone, seriously how did his undercover personality end up with better social skills than him?) and Roy was kind of feeling like a trophy wife at this point, but other than that it wasn’t as terrible as Jason had made it seem to be.

He were currently having a very nice conversation with Beth and a few of her friends. Roy could see the girl was very clever and an actual nice person, too bad her parents were most likely cold blooded murderers and all their money was dirty. Maybe going to Princeton would save her from the inevitable doom that her family would bring to her life, or maybe Roy needed to be optimistic because his parental instinct was talking. In any case, he liked her far better than her mother. 

He kept an eye firmly on Jason who was chatting happily with a group of housewives, Tiffany included of course, and seemed to be the life of the party. Either he was a great actor (probably, was there anything the Robins couldn’t do?) or he actually enjoyed gossiping with forty-something suburban moms (it was also likely, Jason was odd like that). Suddenly, the band (because of course Tiffany had to hire a band, she was over the top like that) started playing a song that Roy recognized after a few seconds. And what happened after shouldn’t have surprised him, he knew how much of a troll Jason could be after all. He saw him gasp and excitedly telling the women:

“I’m sorry ladies, but I have to leave you for a few minutes, this is my boyfriend and I’s song, we just HAVE to dance!”

As soon as he heard him, Roy was trying to find a way to escape, but it was too late as Jason turned to him with an evil smile and said:

“Honey Bear! Come and dance with me! I know how much you love this song!”

Yeah, he was going to kill him as soon as this night was over. For now though, he swallowed his pride and just smiled in return, saying in a sickly sweet tone:

“Of course Sweetie Pie, as you wish!”

And he let Jason lead him to the dance floor and just latch himself onto him so they could start slow dancing. Roy made sure it looked romantic when he whispered in Jason’s ear:

“I am sincerely considering your murder right now.”

“Please, you’re just embarrassed cause I’ve outed your closeted love for Taylor Swift.”

“You love her even more than me! Besides, ‘The Archer’ isn’t my favorite song, it’s yours!”

“Yeah true, I can admit that. But you gotta admit it was funny.”

“No one can understand the joke except us Jay.”

“Doesn’t make it any less funny. Now shut up and focus on the dance, I’m actually enjoying the song right now.”

Roy grumbled but obliged anyway. He just let himself get lost in the feeling of Jason in his arms, only noticing him, all the noise around them drowned by the song. Their bodies were practically glued together with how close they were, and Roy was staring at Jason’s face while he seemed lost in his own world, mouthing the words to the song absentmindedly. Roy suddenly pondered over the irony that one of Jason’s favorite songs was called ‘The Archer’.

“Why do you like this song so much?” he finally asked which made Jason snap back to reality.

“I don’t know, I just like it. I mean, the lyrics are very good , I can kinda relate, and I’m aware it makes me sound like a thirteen year old girl when I say that, but honestly I have no shame. It’s really relatable. The feeling of being at everyone’s mercy and not having anyone to turn to, to feel so alone you have to become a monster so people have a reason to desert you, the feeling of not knowing if it’s even possible for you to be loved anymore because you’re too broken, yeah I can relate… Why are you looking at me like that?” he added suddenly, noticing the way Roy had been staring at him.

Just as the singer sang _‘Can you see right through me?_ ’, Roy simply responded:

“Cause you’re beautiful.”

And without adding anything else, he leaned forward to kiss him. Jason was surprised of course, but still kissed back, completely melting in Roy’s arms, letting go as if he knew (and maybe he did) that Roy would take care of him.

When they parted, Roy whispered:

“Let’s get out of here. I think we have a lot to alk about.”

Jason nodded, not trusting his voice, and they quickly said their goodbyes to the people at the party before heading back to Roy’s car.

They drove in silence for a while, Jason trying to wrap his head around what had just happened, and Roy trying his best not to get impatient and focus on the road.

He drove them to a small hill with a nice view of the city and they got out of the car to sit on the grass. Jason couldn’t contain himself anymore:

“What just happened? What does this mean Roy?”

Roy looked him in the eye and he could see everything he’d been taking for granted before, thinking it couldn’t possibly mean what he thought it meant. He smiled and took his hand in his.

“You really don’t have a clue?”

“I mean, I kinda do… but…”

“But what?”

“… I always thought the best course of action was ignoring any feeling between us. Because… because you’ve worked so hard to build yourself back up and become the man you are today, and I’m nowhere near that. and I don’t want to to bring you down with me, or for you to lose patience and leave me… you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I don’t wanna lose you because I’m too much of a fuck up to be in a relationship.”

“You’re not losing me. I’m staying by your side no matter what. You don’t give yourself enough credit. Sure, you still have demons, but it’s okay, I have demons too. what matters is that you’re dealing with them, just like I am. Our relationship has been working out so far hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, but…”

“But nothing. You haven’t managed to push me away so fr, it isn’t starting now. I’d say you need to give me a chance, but the only one you need to give a chance to is yourself. I’ll help you hold onto me.”

“… fuck, you can’t quote Taytay like that, it’s unfair…”

“all is fair in love and war. And I’m ready to fight for you.”

“… promise not to let go?”

“I promise.”

Jason exhaled loudly, as if he’d stopped breathing for years, before timidly leaning towards Roy and kissing him again.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

It was months later, as they’d finish moving all of Jason’s stuff into Roy’s apartment, that he told him about his conversation with Lian.

“Wait, you’re telling me you’ve finally decided to ask me out cause Lian wanted me to be her second father?”

“I mean, not entirely, but it did help yes.”

“That’s…. that’s probably the cutest thing I’ve ever heard, not gonna lie. I need to buy her all the ice cream in the world.”

“Please don’t. I’m not ready to handle the aftermath of that. “

“But she deserves it! she’s the reason I’m the happiest man alive, and she’s claimed me as her dad, I need to acknowledge that high honor. Also, she’s the reason I now have a new favorite Taylor Swift song.”

“Oh do you? Which one?”

Jason smiled a secretive smile, one of those he ony reserved for Roy, and pecked him on the lips before answering:

“ ‘Lover’. “

Roy smiled in turned and give him full tender kiss before adding:

“it’s my favorite too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> blblbblbl So I guess, like Roy, I need to be outed as a closeted Taylor Swift enthusiast lol. I mean I'm not her biggest fan, I don't always agree with everything she says or does, but I respect her a lot as an artist and I like 99% of her songs. Also I couldn't resist the Archer joke lol I'm a troll. but yeah her new album is really good I actually have been listening to it non stop for a day now it's great lol. although no song can compare to Lover . it's the superior song and the best choice of title track I've seen in a while.  
> anyway enough about my gushing about this complex but in a lot of ways admirable woman let's go back to JayRoy omg I love them I love Roy can he adopt me? also Jay being an insecure bean is so adorable, in my head he suddenly became as small as Timmy boy lol. also I brought back Jason's strange relationship with suburban moms cause honestly I would love to see Jason star in a Desperate Housewives type of show, that would be quality entertainment.  
> kk that's all for today.  
> Next Chapter: lol I finished my to do list so I don't really know um... either Supersons or Wally bonding with the Robins, we'll see. hey maybe both but don't count on it too much


	17. Can't Sleep Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian is confused most of the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh hi! So, here's a bit of Supersons. tbh it wasn't supposed to go like this, it was supposed to be an angsty chapter, but hnestly sassy Damian took over and it's honestly one of the funniest chapters I've written for this fic, i absolutely can't deal with Damian's savagery , I love him. Anyway hope you enjoy.

Damian was fifteen when he started to think something was wrong with him. You see, this was the moment in most boys his age’s life when they started having crushes and wanting to start dating and fooling around, but somehow, he didn’t feel like that was something he was interested in. he literally couldn’t care less about it if he was being honest, and it was another thing he didn’t do like everyone else, so it bothered him. He did try to find an interest in dating, but there was honestly no one that he thought he could like, and he’d rather hang out with Jon than to try and force himself to go on dates just to feel like he was fitting in.

But since it was still bothering him, he did what he always did in confusing time and went to ask Bart about it. 

“So let me get this straight, “ Bart said after listening to his confused rambling for a while, “ you think you’re weird for not being a crazy hormonal teenage boy?”

“Uh… yes? “

“Oh my God, you’re adorable. There’s nothing wrong with you Dami. Some people start getting crushes early, some don’t. some might never be interested in a romantic and/or sexual relationship, and some won’t feel any feelings of that kind until they meet the right person. There is no correct way to do it, and just because you feel differently than most people your age doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. “

“… Oh.”

Of course it took only ten seconds for Bart to soothe all of his worries, he shouldn’t even be surprised by now.

“So, it’s okay right? If I don’t want to date, if I end up never wanting to date anyone, it will be okay? “

Bart gave him a secretive smile, like he knew something he didn’t.

“You can do whatever you want as long as it makes you happy. You don’t have to follow a certain pattern for us to accept you, you know that right? “Yeah I know, but…”

“But sometimes you still have doubts, I get that. I’m the same way. You just need reassurance, I’m happy to give you that. And in the eventuality that you ever end up having a crush on someone or you find yourself someone to date, you can always come to me for advice, too. “

“I’ll keep that in mind…”

After that conversation, he felt a lot lighter , and it didn’t bother him as much anymore to see all the couples at school. He’d just think to himself, ‘That’s their way, I have mine’ and just go about his day.

Jon, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be really happy with just being a bystander. Sometimes, Damian would see him look at couples longingly, as if he was craving that kind of affection for himself. However, whenever someone asked him out (which happened way too often if Damian was honest) he’d either pretend he didn’t understand what they meant (Damian knew he wasn’t that naïve) or just decline in the most polite way and apologize profusely. One day, Damian just decided to ask:

“Why do you always say no when you get asked out?”

“Hm?”

“Well, it’s obvious you want to be in a relationship badly, but you always say no when someone ask you. Even the ones that are fairly decent people. Why? “

Jon just looked at his hands, deep in thought for a moment, before answering:

“ You know how sometimes people have big dreams, and everyone around them tell them to knock them down a bit because they’re hard to achieve, and they take too long? So those people, they decide to settle for less, and then their dreams just pass them by and they lose their chance because they didn’t believe in it enough?”

“I don’t see where you’re going with this.”

“I just think that… sure, it would probably be nice to date right now, but I don’t want to settle for someone I barely like, I’d rather wait for the right person at the right moment. Conner calls me a hopeless romantic, and honestly that’s really hypocritical of him, I mean you’ve seen him with Tim, but anyway, I guess he’s kind of right…”

“I see… and how do you know that one of those people couldn’t be this ‘right person’? “

“I just know.”

“Does this mean you already found the ‘right person’?”

“… Maybe?”

Damian nodded slowly, but didn’t pry anymore than that. He figured if Jon wanted to tell him, he would at some point.

“Okay, I think I get it now.”

“I’m glad. Besides, if I dated anyone, I wouldn’t have as much time to hang out with you, and you’d miss me too much,” Jon shrugged with a mischievious smile.

Damian rolled his eyes.

“ Oh I’m sure I’d be devastated, whatever shall I do with my life?”

“Exactly what I thought! You see it works out!”

“ Yeah, it works out.”

Things should have just continued to go as they had so far, except when Damian went to bed that night, he couldn’t help but think back to what Jon had said, and to the answer he’d given him when he asked if he’d find the right person. that ‘Maybe’ was stuck in his brain and it wouldn’t leave him alone. And he didn’t know why, but there was something about this answer that made him feel uneasy. While he hadn’t wanted to question Jon more about it because he respected Jon’s privacy, he couldn’t help but think that a part of him was also scared of the answer, but why? What was so scary about Jon possibly being in love?

Needless to say, he didn’t sleep a lot that night.

The days that followed, he was visibly preoccupied, and everyone could see it, but they commonly decided to leave him alone until he came to them. So of course, Dick did the exact opposite and confronted thim, because Dick didn’t know how to not interfere.

“Yo, Dami, what’s up with you these days?”

“What do you mean? I’m fine.”

“hey, did I ever tell you I used to be an angsty teenager? Cause you’re looking an awful lot like teenage me right now.”

“I’ve heard horror stories about teenage you, I’m pretty sure I’m nothing like you.”

“You might not be there yet but it’s getting closer. Just tell me what’s wrong alright? I just want to help.”

“What if you can’t help?”

“as if, I’m Dick Grayson, there’s nothing I can’t do.”

“Sometimes I forget why I despise you so much, but you’re always there to remind me and I appreciate that about you.”

“Love you too. Now tell me.”

“ I don’t know what to tell you, I don’t understand it myself.”

“Well start from what you do understand and we’ll dig together?”

Damian sighed, but knew Dick wouldn’t leave him alone.

“Fine, let’s try that. I don’t understand myself anymore.”

“time to divorce then.”

“This is why I like Jason and Tim more than you.”

“I’m your favorite and you know it. no but seriously, it’s normal to be confused, especially at your age. What exactly don’t you understand?”

“Why I feel the way I feel.”

“Hah! I told you, emo angsty child!”

“Stop or I’m leaving!”

“Fine, fine! What kind of feelings are we talking about exactly?”

“I don’t know… fear I guess? Dread? Yeah, dread.”

“What are your dreading?”

“It’s gonna sound stupid.”

“I cry in front of documentaries about baby animals, do you honestly think I’m going to judge you?”

“… Good point. Basically, I had a conversation with Jon about… dating, I guess.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, long story short, everyone wants him, he’s really on board with the whole dating another person idea, but he always declines when asked out. So I asked him why. And he told me he didn’t want to just date anybody, that it had to be the right person. So I asked if he knew who that person was and, he didn’t outright tell me but, I’m pretty sure he’s in love.”

“Huh,” Dick answered with a nod and a barely contend amused smile threatening to break out on his face. “and so what does it have to do with your sense of dread?”

“Well, I’m not sure why but, ever since we talked about that I’ve been wondering about it… about who that person could be. But at the same time, I don’t want to know because… I don’t know, I don’t like the idea I guess, which is stupid, cause if Jon loves them and they make him happy then I’m happy for him but… I don’t know, it doesn’t sit well with me for some reason.”

“I see. Well, I think I have the answers that will help you understand everything, but I don’t know if you’re ready to hear them. “

“huh? What do you mean?”

“I just wonder if I should be the one telling you, or if I should let you figure it out for yourself.”

“ I think by now it’s safe to say I cannot, in fact, figure it out myself. So just tell me already.”

Dick looked at him for a while, weighing the pros and cons, before finally decided he couldn’t keep it to himself anymore.

“Ok so, you see, sometimes, when we’re very close with someone, we tend not to see where friendship ends and something… entirely different begins. You can ask Wally, he’ll tell you all about it himself. Anyway, so sometimes, you have that one person that’s so important to you, that you’d do anything for, and that you don’t want to lose under any circumstances. And thinking that you might feel something more for them, well, that’s potentially dangerous for your friendship, so you ignore the signs. You ignore the little voice in your head that tells you they’re beautiful when they smile, that urges you to take their hand when you’re walking side by side, that makes you want to kiss them when they’re just there talking to you. You ignore it all and you become so good at ignoring it that it’s almost like those feelings don’t exist. Until something comes to make them resurface. Most of the time, it’s a nasty little thing called jealousy. Nothing helps you realize what you want more than to think someone else might take it away from you, or already has. And it’s even worse when you don’t understand that it’s jealousy at play, because you end up acting irrationally and not knowing why you’re like this. Anyway what I’m trying to say is that, sometimes you already know the answer to all of your questions, but it’s hidden in a part of your head that you never look in, or should I say in a part of your heart. Do you get it now?”

“I… all this time I didn’t understand why I wasn’t looking for love… it’s because I had already found it isn’t it? I’m in love wih Jon…”

“Yes Dami, you are…”

And just like that, he could almost hear the lock in his head get unlocked, and everything made sense. Of course he’d never been interested in anyone else. Ever since he’d met Jon, he’d been focused on him and only him. At first it was just blind loyalty, because Jon had decided he was worthy of being his friend and that meant the world to Damian, but then… then something had shifted, and he hadn’t noticed, or wouldn’t notice if Dick was correct, and he probably was.

“I can’t believe I’ve been this blind, I feel as stupid as your husband.”

“at least it didn’t take you 12 years to realize it, so you have that going for you.”

“it’s a weak consolation.”

“You don’t seem too freaked out though, I was expecting more of a mental breakdown.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess not. To be honest I just feel a lot better now that I understand what’s going on. It’s a bit easier to breathe, the unknown is surprisingly scarier than love to me. “

“Huh. What about that mysterious person Jon’s In love with, doesn’t that bother you anymore?”

Damian opened his mouth to answer, but then he noticed the way Dick looked al smug and up to no good, like he knew something Damian didn’t and that made him extatic. Damian frowned and thought over everything once again, every time Jon had rejected someone, how he’d said he’d rather spend all his time with Damian, and that ‘maybe’. That maybe he had dreaded so much, but now, he could hear it the way Jon had intended it to sound: with hope, a lot of hope, the same hope that had been shining in his eyes as he’d looked at Damian, behind the uncertainty.

“… Oh my God, you’re the absolute WORST Grayson! You really weren’t gonna tell me?!”

“What are you talking about? You’ve lost it baby bro.”

“I can’t believe this! How many of you knew? All of you I bet! I want a new family you’re all traitors I don’t like you anymore!”

“What are you even on about?”

“it’s me! I’m the one Jon loves! It’s so obvious now I don’t see how I missed it!”

“Aww too bad I wanted to tease you for a few more miutes before hinting at it!”

“Is my suffering that entertaining to you?”

“no but your teenage drama is!”

“You’re disowned. Wait no, I can’t disown you yet, I still need your help! Help me and I might consider not disowning you!”

Dick rolled his eyes fondly.

“How am I supposed to help?”

“Well, tell me what I need to do now!”

“You didn’t panic until now and now you’re on full hysteria mode? You’re weird. Anyway, just confess, that’s easy enough right?”

“I don’t remember how words work!”

“you take one, then another one that you put after the first one, and you continue until you have a sentence. “

“I’m gonna make a fool ot of myself! Also, shouldn’t I make a grand romantic gesture or something? And what if it’s all a big mistake? What if I screw everything up? What if I’m not the one Jon needs? I’m probably not what he needs. Okay so the only solution is for me to flee to Antartica and start a new life as a polar bear, I think it’s the only way, yeah I’m gonna do tha…”

Dick just put his hand on Damian’s mouth to shut him up, and said:

“You will stop this nonsense right now Damian Wayne, it’s unbecoming of you. First of all, You don’t need a grand romantic gesture just to confess your feelings you absolute drama queen! Not everyone can be as over the top as Kon when it comes to confessing. Second you don’t get to decide what Jon needs, he can do that for himself. And third, you never wondered why Kon was so adamant on making sure you and Jon met?”

Dick waited for Damian to answer, before remembering he couldn’t because he still had his hand on his mouth. He took it off and Damian huffed before responding:

“No I never did, but I’m guessing it has something to do with alternate me, cause it always does somehow.”

“You’d be right about that. As we’ve already told you more than once, alternate Bart was constantly spilling things about the future, but the other you was a lot better at keeping things about himself secret. But one thing we learned from him by accident, or Kon learned actually, was that he had someone called Jon in his life, and that he loved him deeply. Just hearing his name made him smile, which was absolutely unbelievable because he seemed to think that smiling was dangerous for some reason and tried to do it as rarely as possible. Now you know I don’t believe in fate, I think we provoke our destiny. But you and Jon? Yeah, sounds a lot like fate to me.”

“… What are we still doing here? Come on get your shoes on, I need a ride!”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

After driving as fast as the speed limits allowed them ( Damian did try to have Dick break the rule for once because it was an emergency, but he wouldn’t budge ‘safety first Dams!’ he’d said) they were finally in front of the Kents’ house, and Damian absolutely forbade Dick from getting out of the car, and he pouted but obliged. Damian nervously knocked on the door, already going over what he was going to say in his head. But, when instead of Jon, it was Clark who opened the door, all of his plans went through the window.

“Damian? What are you doing here this late?”

Without taking the time to think, Damian just blurted out, nearly shouted:

“I want your blessing to marry your son!”

Clark’s mouth hung open and his eyes became as big as tennis balls. Damian mentally facepalmed himself, before correcting himself:

“Wait, no that’s not what I was going to say! I don’t want to marry Jon;, I mean I do, one day, maybe, not now though cause like we’re only fifteen and I don’t even know how adulating works and honestly it scares me a bit and… I’m ot making any sense am I?”

“Not really no.”

“Yeah, figures. I just… is Jon there?”

“Yeah, he’s inside with Lois and Kon, it’s movie night.”

“Ah, yes, forgot about that. I really don’t mean to impose but I really, really need to talk to Jon right now, can I just… I’ll get out of your hair after that I promise, but…”

“Breathe son, it’s okay, of course you can talk to him. JON! YOUR BETROTHED WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!”

“I have a betrothed?” Damian heard Jon’s confused voice answer from inside as he was getting more and more mortified by the second.

“ Clark darling, did you arrange a marriage for our son without consulting me?” Lois added.

“Yeah, I would also have liked to know!” Conner finished as the three of them arrived in front of the door.

As soon as Jon saw him, his whole face became brighter, and honestly how hadn’t he noticed it happened before?

“ Dami! What are you doing here?”

“I, uh…” Daian started, suddenly very self-conscious in front of the whole Superfamily.

“Is he the betrothed then?” Lois asked.

“Okay, I forgive you Clarkie, I approve.” Conner added

“Guyyyyyys stoooooop!” Jon whined, embarrassed, his cheeks all red.

“ Hey, not my fault Damian just asked me for your hand in marriage,” Clark responded, amused as Damian was praying for the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

“He did what?!” Conner and Lois shouted at the same time as Jon just did the exact same shocked face his father had done a few minutes ago.

“Yeah uh… about that… I’m sorry but I panicked, and I don’t mean to be rude, but I have something really important to say to Jon and you’re all making me a bit nervous…”

“Say no more,” Conner intervined as he took the arms of Lois and Clark and dragged them away with him, “we’ll give you some privacy, come on you guys let’s leave the children to figure things out!”

Damian silently thanked God for Conner as he saw him force the protesting couple into the kitchen, and then turned his attention to Jon who looked as confused as possible.

“… what just happened.”

“Yeah huh… better not question it honestly, it was embarrassing I’d rather we’d forget.”

“….ok then. You said you wanted to tell me something?”

“Yeah…”

“Well… I’m listening.”

“…I figured it out. What you told me about, not settling for less than what you know for sure is the right person for you. I guess I understand your reasoning better now, cause I think I was doing the same, I just didn’t know it yet.”

“oh? Okay… “

“Yeah. And also… when you said you might know who was the right person… you were talking about me, weren’t you?”

Jon started panicking:

“I… Dami I… listen, it’s not… I just…”

“I’m asking,” Damian cut him off, “cause I really hope it was me you were talking about, otherwise it’s gonna be awkward when I tell you I love you too.”

“you… what?”

“I love you Jon. I’m deeply in love with you, so much it makes me do stupid things, like show up at your door at night and accidentally ask your father to let me marry you, and honestly I’m pretty ridiculous but I don’t care, I don’t give a flying fuck, pardon my language, because the only thing that matters to me right now is you. And… wait you’re crying oh no Jon don’t I can’t… oh Lord…”

Damian didn’t wait a second more before enveloping Jon into a hug and waiting until he calmed down.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for being such a crybaby I just… I can’t believe it’s happening, I can’t believe you really love me! Me!”

“Well, you should believe it, because that’s the truth. I love you, and I want to date you, like, if you’d want that of course, you don’t have to say yes but like, I think that’d be pretty neat, but no pressure of co…”

“Dami?”

“Yes?”

“Shut up. I think you’ve talked enough, no offense.”

“… yeah, none taken, you’re probably right.”

“Yeah. Of course I’ll date you, I mean I thought that was obvious. Also I love you too, and you better deliver on the marriage thing cause I’ll be waiting now. Especially since according to my dad we’re betrothed now, can’t back out.”

Damian laughed.

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

Then he looked into Jon’s eyes, and he was suddenly taken by a great urge to kiss him.

“Hey, so this dating thing, does it mean I’m allowed to kiss you?”

Jon looked at him incredulously.

“I’m pretty sure you’re allowed to kiss your boyfriend Damian.”

“Just making sure,” Damian added before, in fact, kissing his boyfriend.

It probably would have been a perfect first kiss too, if it hadn’t been interrupted halfway through by a loud horn sound that made them both jump and look outside to see Dick waving at them happily and raising both thumbs in the air.

“That’s it, he’s dead,” Damian decided.

“He’s just happy for us, it’s cute!”

“No, it’s embarrassing. I need a new family, this one is broken.”

“You wanna talk about embarrassing? You do know that two out of three of the lovely people in the kitchen have kryptonian blood right? That privacy they gave us? Yeah it’s just an illusion, they’re listening to every word of our conversation since the very beginning.”

Damian sighed loudly, as Jon called out:

“I’m walking Damian back to his car, when I come back, I expect an apology for this very blatant breach of my trust and right to a private life! “

He then took Damian’s hand and did as he’d told. Once they were at the car though, they had a hard time letting go of each other, stealing a few more kisses, not even caring that Dick was cooing at them. They finally managed to let go, after promising to see each other the very next day.

That night, as Damian got to bed, he couldn’t sleep again, but this time he knew why, and he didn’t mind. After all, what use was sleeping when all of his dreams had already come true?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hejakakdl I can't I just can't I don't know what cracks me up the most, the way Damian doesn't have any patience for Dick, the nervous mess he became, Clark having zero chills or Jon berating his parents and big brother without a care in the world. I love them. I live for them, Supersons more like Supersavage k bye now
> 
> Next Chapter: Wally and the Robins


	18. Wally And His Robins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally's relationship with the Robins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! so, this chapter is not as long as I woul have hoped. It's also one of the last seemingly random chapters , the plot is gonna get thicker from this point onwards, in order to prepare for the next entry in this series (yes, I'm already planning the next one when I still have two freaking fics to finish lol).   
> Still, I really like some aspects of this one, and Wally being a cutie is always a win, plus Dami cracks me up so much in this one, honestly he's so random I don't know what happened.   
> Okay here you go, enjoy! x

There were a lot of unspoken rules when it came to being a Robin, rites of passage only they knew about. But one of them had endured throughout the years: A Robin wasn’t officially a Robin until Wally had called him Rob’.

It was a strange thing, Wally’s relationship with the Robin mantle. When Dick had given it up to become Nightwing, Wally was almost more upset than Dick at the prospect of Dick not being Robin anymore, as if it meant he was truly losing his best friend. He’d continued to call him Rob’ for months before finally transitioning into calling him Nightwing.

And when Jason arrived, it was a very weird experience for Wally. Here was this new kids who was so different from what Dick had been like at his age, walking around proudly in the Robin costume like he owned the mantle (and of course he did, but it hadn’t compute to Wally’s brain yet.)

So it took a while for him to finally accept that change, that this was just a normal part of life, and that at least with Jason, Robin’s legacy was living on. He started watching over the kid, smiling fondly whenever he’d do something that screamed Robin, no matter who was under the mask. And then one day, as they had just caught the random villain of the week and Jason had said something clever and funny, Wally couldn’t remember what exactly but he remembered thinking it was hilarious, he just started laughing and said:

“Nice one Rob’!”

He hadn’t thought too much of it, not noticing how Jason’s eyes had grown twice their usual size, how significantly happier he had looked on the way back to the Headquarters after, and how he’d made an effort to be less hostile to Wally in the week that followed.

He didn’t realize what his acknowledgement meant, or that he had just set a standard. It had just come naturally, and he continued to call him Rob’ on occasion, without ever stopping to realize what it meant.

And then Jason had died.

And to be honest, Wally hadn’t ever had time to process that. everything happened so fast. All he could do at the time was to be there for Dick and make sure he was alright. But sometimes, he did think back to the first time he saw Jason in the Robin costume, and he couldn’t help but want to see him parade around in red, green and yellow like he owned the place again.

And then Dick told him about his plan to have Tim become the new Robin. And something about that didn’t feel right in Wally’s mind. Of course, he would really love for the Robin mantle to live on, but at the same time, he felt it was still too soon. he remembered his fear of being replaced when he had met Bart for the first time, and wondered how Jason would have felt. Most importantly, he didn’t want the new generation of young heroes to ever forget about Jason, or any of the fallen for that matter. So he got the idea of the memorial room. he had collected so many souvenirs during all the missions with the team, because ehe wanted to always remember the good moments they spent together. But it was also important to remember the bad ones, the sadness, and what they’d lost. And that’s how his last contribution to the team before leaving was the memorial room.

The first time he came back to Mount justice, months later, was for Tim’s first day as a team member. He found him in front of Jason’s hologram, looking at him in reverence and sorrow.

“Hey there Timmy, looking good,” he commented talking about his costume.

“You think? I feel like an imposture. I mean, I’m only in this costume because Jay died…”

“Don’t think like that. Maybe it was always supposed to happen. Maybe you’d have succeeded him like he succeeded Dick anyway, I’m sure Bruce had you in mind for a while now. “

“Maybe… but we can’t know that. And, I… I’ll never be as good as Jason.”

“Then don’t try to be. You’re not replacing him, you’re replacing Robin. There’s a difference. Don’t see it as an identity, but more as a brotherhood of sorts. You’re part of something bigger than you, bigger than Jason, bigger than Dickie even. You’re not the first, and you probably won’t be the last, but you’re still unique. You bring something new, a new life to the mantle. So don’t feel burden, you’re gonna do just fine. Just spread your wings and fly, Rob’.”

Tim looked at him for a while, and then did something that was really uncharacteristic of him as far as Wally knew, not having spent that much time with him: he came forward and hugged him.

“Thank you, Wally, for what you’ve said, and for this room, too.”

“Hey, no worries,” Wally patted his head gently, “you’re a Robin now, it means I have your back, always okay? “

Tim nodded, then let go of him, addressing him a small smile.

Damian had been another story altogether. The transition wasn’t hard because he couldn’t detach Tim as Robin from his mind ( it was made easy by the fact Tim had kept the name Robin as part of his new identity) but more so the fact that to him, Damian was Redbird ( and that was honestly funny, that the other Damian had probably chosen that name in honor of Tim, and now here was this younger version of him becoming Robin). So it was absolutely weird seeing this tiny version of the guy he’d know years prior in his Robin costume, being an all around annoying little shit, but then again that was a Robin thing too.

it had been equally as weird meeting Bart for the first time, but Bart hadn’t been that different from his older counterpart. Less confident maybe, and a lot less mature, but other than that, he was still this cute, optimistic ray of sunshine he’d always been.

Damian was… a work in progress, was the nicest way to put it. but it was soon apparent that all he needed was guidance, and once he was given just that, he was far easier to deal with.

When he’d started doning the Robin mantle, Wally would call him Birdie more often than not, for one because it annoyed him and it was always funny to rile Damian up, and also because more than any Robin before him, Damian felt like a baby bird that hadn’t spread his wings yet. It was probably because he’d become Robin at a far younger age than Tim and Jason, and even before that he’d always had to fight. So it was easy to forget how small he still was, but Wally didn’t.

And then, when Wally started dating Dick (finally), he suddenly got to see a whole lot more of Damian. He got to see how he interacted with everyone else, got to see him grow in front of his eyes. But it wasn’t until he took him on a mission with him and Bart that it happened. Wally was more than nervous to have both of them under his protection, and had been especially protective of Damian throughout the mission, not wanting to bring him back to his family with even a scratch. But at that particular moment, they had to split up, Wally going one way and the other two another. And of course, he was panicking over that, repeating words of cautions oer and over again until Damian cut him calmly to say:

“ hey, Flash, chill out will you? Everything is going to go just fine, it’s not that big of a deal, the mission is pretty standard. Besides, KF’s got my back, and I got his.”

And oh if that didn’t hit him right in the heart. He had long since given up his Kid Flash mantle to Bart, but he’d never heard anyone call him by his old nickname yet. And of course Damian had to be the first, it was almost poetic. Legacy indeed.

“Alright Rob’, I trust you,” he simply answered with a smile, before they parted ways.

It took time, but in the end, every single Robin always managed to find a way into Wally’s heart, and he’d adopt every last one of them without ever turning back.

What he didn’t know was that they all had adopted him right back.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

It was a week before Dick and Wally’s wedding, and Wally was coming home after a pretty tiring day, eager to finally reach his and Dick’s shared apartment to have said a well earned rest, when he suddenly heard a horn sound . he turned to find a big black SUV in front of him, and as the window rolled down, he could see Jason in the driver seat and Tim in shotgun.

“Get in the car West,” Jason said without so much of a hello.

“ is this a kidnapping situation?” Wally asked, already mourning his relaxing evening.

“ Duh,” Tim answered, “Do you think we get the Black SUV out cause we like the style?”

He heard a muttering voice coming from the back of the car saying “no, it’s because you guys are extra as fuck.” And he recognized Damian’s exasperated tone.

“Whatever,” Jason continued, “Come on get in, we haven’t got all day.”

“Can I at least know where you’re taking me?”

“Nope.”

“Great.” Wally sighed before getting inside in the back, quickly smiling to Damian who just shrugged and went back to typing on his phone.

“Gee, teenagers these days,” he muttered, and Tim turned around to say:

“Right? He’s been glued to his phone for weeks now, I blame Dick for pushing him to start a Twitter account.”

“You’re just salty because I have more followers than you.” Damian answered without even looking up, and Tim looked affronted while Jason snorted.

“I’m sure you cheated! No way anyone would want to hear about what a 14 year old brat has to say, son of Bruce Wayne or not!”

“Well apparently they do, apparently I’m edgy and a #SavageKing , so suck it up Drake.”

“Respect me your gremlin, I…” he paused as his phone beeped, mentioning he just got a Twitter notification; “did you just tweet about me?”

“You should thank me, maybe this will help increase your follower count.”

“That’s it, I’m gonna kill him!”

“Not in the car Tim, “ Jason said calmly, as if patiently dealing with a five year old, “and Damian, stop getting on his nerves on purpose.”

“But it’s so easy!” Damian protested.

“I know, but today isn’t the day to start a Twitter feud.”

“You know, “ Wally chimed in, “You guys are fascinating sometimes. Anyway, did you just kidnap me so you could entertain me with your sibling quarrels? “

“No, we obviously kidnapped you so we could kill you away from prying eyes, “ Damian answer with an eye roll, and honestly Wally wasn’t sure if he was kidding or not. Fortunately, Tim added:

“We just figured it was time we spent some quality time with you, since you’re willingly subjecting yourself to a lifetime of Dickie. We never thought someone would be dumb enough to do that , but I guess we underestimated you. So now you’re getting the ‘Welcome to the Family’ experience, Robin edition. “

“Will it involve as many threats as the Batman and Alfred edition? “

“We haven’t decided yet,” Jason answered as he parked the car, “we’re here, everyone out.”

As soon as he got out, Wally looked around and was relieved he wasn’t in a deserted shady place, so he figured he wasn’t getting murdered yet. Instead, he was in front of an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant. He turned to Jason with hopeful eyes, and Jason nodded, saying:

“We thought about treating you to a nice gourmet four star restaurant, but we figured you’d like that better. Also we rented it out so you can eat as much as you want. “

“I’m actually going to cry right now, you guys are amazing!” Wally exclaimed as he tried to hug all three of them at the same time.

“Yeah yeah, we know, you love us and all that, can we go inside now? I’m actually pretty hungry myself,” Damian cut the whole display of affection out.

They went inside and absolutely gorged themselves on all the food, all the while talking and joking about everything and nothing in an easy, bantering way. Then came time for the dessert(s) and that was when Tim cleared his throat and said.

“Actually Walls, the whole restaurant thing was just the first gift we had for you. To be honest we weren’t sure what to get you exactly but then we thought about how you’ve always been really into keeping a trace of everything you’ve lived, keeping souvenirs, and honestly it made sense, so, we decided to make this for you.”

He nodded to Jason who just put two gigantic books in front of Wally. Wally was confused, and carefully opened the first one in front of him, and he understood that it wasn’t just a book, it was a photo album. inside, there were probably hundreds of photographs of Dick and Wally as they were growing up, surrounded by the different people in their respective lives. Everything was beautifully decorated and accompanied by handwritten notes that seemed to be telling a story. Their story.

Wally looked up, eyes welling up with tears, his words refusing to come out, and Jason took this as a cue to talk instead:

“we’ve worked on it for months, ever since you proposed to Dick. Tim has been gathering all the different pictures, harassing everyone you know, I’ve taken care of the notes, one of my finest literary work honestly, and Damian’s been handling the whole aesthetic aspect. He is now obsessed with scrapbooking, it’s actually worrying.”

“You’re just jealous of my talent,” Damian shrugged.

“You… I can’t believe it… this is the best gift you could have ever given me…”

“hey, don’t cry West, “ Damian said as he patted his shoulder awkwardly, “we just wanted to show you you’re one of us now, and to be honest, you’ve kind of always been.”

“Yeah, what Dami said,” Tim added, “You’ve played a role in every single Robin’s journey, and you’ve made sure we knew we belonged. So now it’s our turn to tell you you belong with us, in this strange, demented family.”

“And just so you know, there’s no way out, so you better embrace it.”

Wally laughed through the tears and said:

“I don’t need a way out, I’m perfectly happy with the family I’m getting. I just have one question, what’s the second album for?”

“Oh this one? It’s empty. We figures since we could only make an album that goes to the present, and you’ll probably make even more memories in the future, we’d give you one you can complete yourself. But if you need scrapbooking tips, let me know, Jay was not kidding when he said I had a problem. “

“Yeah that’s true, it’s getting out of hand, we had to stage an intervention,” Tim confirmed.

Wally looked at the three boys fondly .

“You bunch of crackheads. I love you all my little Robs.” 

And despite the chorus of ‘Ew!’ ‘Gross!’ and ‘who are you calling little you asshole’ he got back, he knew that they loved him too.

After all, it was how it had always been and would always be: Wally would always be there for The Robins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOW CUTE ARE THE BABY ROBINS HONESTLY POOR WALLY HIS HEART WASNT READY FOR THAT!  
> Okay so, as you probably noticed, Birdflash's wedding takes place a little later in the timeline in this fic. I think the fact that Wally didn't die for a year made him less in a hurry to tie the knot cause life is short and all that crap lol. also he probably wanted to be sure Conner was 100% happy before even thinking about proposing to Dick cause Wally is a good bro like that.   
> Anywho back to the chapter. Jason showing his amazing big brother/ parenting skills, Tim and Damian and their legendary sibling rivalry, Damian being a typical teenager , a Twitter king and a scrapbooking enthusiast, I really can't with him anymore he's taking a life of his own I'm being possessed help!
> 
> Next Chapter: Bart and friends


	19. Hello Old Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bart has the time of his life in college and meets new friends that are completely unrelated to his superhero life... or are they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> It's been a while I know, honestly between my writer's block, my new computer crashing a month after me buying it (that wasn't nice) and a whole bunch of other crap, I didn't really manage to write. I finallyy did today and I'm... okay with this chapter? it's not the best by any definition, but it's not that bad either. it's just... yeah.  
> warning this is plot heavy. we're getting close to the point of this whole story, and also close to the end tbh. ( and by story I mean just this volume lol I still have things to write about). I think you'll get three or four more chapters, but not a lot more. I'm tying up a few loose ends right now. anyway enjoy xxx

Bart had never really given much thought about school. He’d decided to go to high school just to see what all the fuss was about, and it had actually been a fun experience, but he never thought he would take the time to go to college afterwards. But then he’d actually started liking studying history of all subjects, for some reason, and he was pretty good at it. His teacher was the one to suggest he pursued a degree in the field, and well, he thought that it couldn’t hurt to try, if he didn’t like it he could always drop out right?

Well, turns out it had been a great decision , as he quickly realized as soon as he met Nathan Calver. 

Bart had never had friends outside of the Superhero circle before, and if he was honest he hadn't thought about ever branching out. He was content to live in his bubble, not realizing the world was bigger and full of fascinating people and things. Nathan had come quite litterally barging into his life on the first day of college, when the poor Film student made a fool out of himself getting in very late , making a lot of noise and just sitting panicked and all red next to a confused Bart. As it turned out, he wasn't even in the right room and he finally noticed halfway through the first hour. But by then, he and Bart had somehow already managed to create a good enough rapport that he decided to stay untiuil the end of the lesson, and then they went to the closest coffee shop to get to know each other better. 

And just like that, Bart made his first “normal” friend. And with Nate soon came other students, all very different from each other, that made Bart's horizons enlarge a little bit more every day. He started going to parties, not the very loud kind, that wasn't really his style, but the artsy, chill kind. And of course, there was the movie nights at Nate's, with only the closest of his friends, which were his favorites, and the occasional double dates with Jaime and Nate's boyfriend Simon.

But by far, the most interesting and intriguing thing that being friends with Nate brought to Bart's life was Amy. 

Amy was different from the others, and for a very long time, Bart couldn't put his finger on it. It wasn't that he didn't like her, on the contrary he adored her, she was kindhearted and absolutely adorable in every way, but there was something odd about her. She always seemed to be o guard, and her smile sometimes felt like it was painful to even muster one. She was just... strange. 

It wasn't until Dick and Wally's wedding that he finally understood. He had arranged for Nate and Amy's band to play during the reception, the band they had previously booked being absolutely horrendous, and everything had gone perfectly right. So happy to see his two world collide in such an amazing way, Bart had happily gone to them when the DJ had taken over during their break, and enthusiastically congratulated them. 

“That was absolutely crash guys! “

“I'm still not exactly well versed on Bartisms, is crash good or...?” Amy asked

“Oh yeah, “ Nathan answered, “according to my personnale Bartionary, that's Jaime by the way, crash means we're totally amazing. If he's feeling the mode however, we're all screwed.”

“Hey, you're getting the hang of it!” Bart smiled happily “No but really, you just saved this entire wedding, you have no idea how big of a disaster we merely escaped from. “

“It was our pleasure Bartie, anything to get Amy's voice out there.”

“Ugh, stop it Calver, I told you times and times again, I'm not gonna become a pop icon give up already!”

“She has no faith in herself this one, can you believe it? If I wasn't here to push her to become a star she'd be sitting in her appartment all night eating frozen pizza and ice cream directly out of the tub!”

“Yeah well, at least it makes me happy! You only want me to become rich and famous so you can use me to conquer the world and become supreme overlord anyway!”

“Well yeah, your point is?”

Bart just started laughing at their antics, their friendship was the weirdest yet so andearing to him. 

“Well, even though you refuse to play the platonic “A Star Is Born” role Nate is desperate to have you play, I still think you're crazy talented Ames,” Bart declared, making the young girl smile shyly.

“I certainly agree with that statement, “ came a voice from behind Bart that made them all jump. 

“Oh My God that's Bruce Wayne!” Nathan whispered-screamed as Bart tried to suppress a laugh and Amy looked like a dear caught in headlight. 

“Indeed, and you must be Mr. Calver. Yes, I heard a lot about you from Bart.”

Nate's eyes grew a comical size as he looked at Bart shocked. His friend just shrugged. 

“ Brucie's like my Grandpa or something, I tell him things sometimes. “

“You literally never stops tallking Bartholomew, “ Bruce answered in a deadpan voice.

“Well someone has to talk, if it were up to you we would just sit in silence for hours!”

“I don't see wha't's wrong with that. But anyway, it is nice to meet you Mr. Calver. I hear you're a very talented film student? I'm looking forward to see what the future has in store for you. I know a few people in the film industry you know? Call me if you ever need help. Here's my card.”

Nate took the business card he was handing him and looked at it like it was the actual Graal. 

“Wow Mr. Wayne I... that's very generous of you thank you.”

“It's no trouble at all, you just saved my son's wedding reception after all. It was awfully kind of you to come on such short notice.”

“Oh you know, anything for Bartie.”

“I'm glad he has such caring friends. In any case you have my number, feel free to use it. Now onto Miss Hope. It's really nice to see you again Amelia.”

Amy guped, then looked up to carefully meet Bruce's gaze.

“Nice to see you too Mister Wayne... it's been a while...”

“I agree, how long now, ten years? You've certainly grown a lot. And it seems you became a great woman, but I had no doubt about that. “

“Thank you sir... for now and for... then. It helped, what you said back then.”

“I'm happy it did. Well I'll leave you kids to it now, again, nice show. Bart don't forget your speech is coming soon.”

“Oh yeah, I'll be there in a few.”

Bruce nodded and left. As soon as he was out of earshot, Nathan started fandboying hard.

“ Did that really just happen? Have I actually understood? Okay Wicked references aside I just met Freaking Bruce Wayne! And he offered to help me meet people from the industry! Is this real life? Oh myGod I can't breathe!”

usually, Bart would have nicely made fun of his friend, biut he was too stuck on the othe rpart of the previous conversation.

“Hey Ames, I didn't know you knew Brucie.”

“Oh yeah... I met him a very long time ago... when I was like eight...”

“How did that happen?”

“He just... came to see me where I was staying at the time, back in Montana,” she said while looking pointedly at Nathan who took it as its cue. 

“Oh well Bartie you kow we love talking to you b ut the second part of our set is gonna start soon and I need Amy's help with uh... tuning.”

“You're a pianist.'

'What, pianos need tuning too sometimes!”

“Yeah, by professionals. Besides, this is a keyboard.”

Nate just looked at him with heavy meaning and Bart just sighed, then looked at Amy one last time, seeing how uncomfortable she looked, and just gave up.

“Fine, I'll leave you to I, I need to practice my speech one last time anyway. I'll see you later.”

they both answered in kind and they went thheir separate ways. 

A few days later, Bart was at the manor, trying to get informations from Bruce.

“I'm not telling you about mine and Amelia's meeeting, Bart. “

“Come on! I just need to understand! “

“you need to ask her about it.”

“She won't tell me, she was so uncomfortable about it at the wedding!”

“it's not something you talk about during a wedding.”

“Stop teasing and tell me!”

“No I won't. Listen Bart, you obviously care for this girl and your friendship with her. And when you're friends with someone, you don't try to get informations about things they are insecure about from third parties, you talk to them about it. Besides, you can't really blame her for having secrets now can you?”

And yeah, Bruce had a point, even though Bart hated to admit it.

“I guess you're right... I just really don't get it. I don't get HER. There is something about her tht isn't quite right when put in the same length as my other college friends. It's like she doesn't belong there, but not in a bad way? She's just... a little out of the ordinary. And I've been wondering about that for a while now.”

“just talk to her. I'm sure you'll understand soon enough.”

Bart thought about waiting a while to go and ask Amy, but then he realized that the longer he waited, the harder it would be to bring up the subject, and so he just headed to Amy and Nate's appartment, where he found the girl alone for once.

“Oh hi Bartie, Nate is out for the day.”

“Oh that's alright, I came to see you actually.”

“oh. Well come in I guess.”

Bart did as told and sat down on the couch. Amy did the usual host job, asking him if he wanted anything, bringing him a drink and some buiscuits, and then they sat in silence for a while, Bart not knowing how to start the conversation, until the girl finally put him out of his misery.

“So, I guess you're still wondering about that whole thing with your... what did you say your family link was with Mr. Wayne again?”

“Oh, well he's my first cousin once removed's husband's dad, but Wally is also kind of my brother and my dad sometimes and Dickie is also my surrogate dad so that makes Bruce my grandpa... “

“...yeah I didn't get any of that. Whatever, yeah so you wanna know how we met.”

“Well, I'm quite curious yes... but also I don't want to force you into anything...”

“It's alright, I... I need to tell you. We're friends now and... you shouldn't know so little about me, that's not fair to you.”

Bart felt guilty hearing her say that but tried not to let it show. Amy took a deep breathe and then said.

“So, basically I met Mr. Wayne a few days after my sister's death.”

“You...I... Oh Lord I'm so sorry I...”

“No no, it's okay don't worry...”

“I... I didn't even know you had a sister....”

“Yeah, not a lot of people know. Of my current social circle, Nate is the only one to have the full Amy Hope backstory. And soon enough you'll have it too...”

“I... are you sure?”

“Yeah I'm sure,” She said determined. “So, maybe I should start by telling you that I'm an orphan. My father died when I was 2, and my mother when I was 5. from the ages of 5 to 8, my older sister Hecate took care of me. She gave up her whole life just so she could put a roof over my head and feed me. She was my everything, my hero. At the time we lived in Montana, in a house our parents had left for us. Nathan lived nearby, so that's how we met and became best friends. He was always at ours, and Hecate saw him as a little brother. I was so happy, despite the fact that I didn't have my parents anymore. I was loved and I wouldn't have traded my life for anything. And then one night, after a totally normal day, Hecate was murdered on her way back from her night shift. I had been staying at Nate's that night, like I always did when Hecate had nightshifts, and his mom got the call... I thought my life was over. All of a sudden I was taken away by social services and into an orphanage, I didn't even get to say goodbye to Nate... this was the darkest time of my life. But then in the middle of this nightmare, Mr. Wayne came to visit me. He told me... he told me he knew things might seem hopeless right now, that he understood exactly that I might just want to give up on everything, but that I was not doomed . That happiness was still waiting somewhere in the corner and that it would be hard, some days even harder than others, but I would get through it because I was a fighter, and tha it was what my sister would have wanted for me. That I was brave just like she had been. To this day I don't know why he came to me. I know he sometimes meet with orphans, adopts a lot of too it seems, but I don't understand why he came to me specifically. All I know is that he gave me a lot of strength. He told me exactly what I needed to hear at the time and I could never thank him enough for that. I've seen a lot of therapist, social workers and such, but he's the only one I talked to who understood, you know? He just gets it. And so as I was tossed around from one foster family to another for four years, I just held on to his words to not sink into the darkness. And then finally when I was twelve, I found a new family. I was adopted and moved to New Orleans permanantly, until college of course. I lost contact with Nate for a while because when I finally was able to reach out to him, he'd moved away from Montana, but I found him online when I was around fifteen . And things have been going steadlily up since then. I have my family, my friends, college is going fine, I have my music. But sometimes... Sometimes I still have down times, you know?”

“Yeah I know... I know exactly what you mean...”

“The curse of the orphans aye?”

“Something like that... I'm sorry this happened to you Ames...”

“Hey, nothing we can do about it right? It's not like we can change the past. But we can move forward. And that's what I'm doing. That's what I'm forcing myself to do everyday, because if I don't, well I might as well have died that night too.”

And that's when Bart finally understood. The only reason he felt like Amy didn't belong with his college friends, was because she wasn't like them, she was like him. She felt wrong in his whole new world of discoveries and fun because she had been an all too familiar piece. While Nate represented what Bart could have been like had he had a normal life, Amy was what he had had to become. 

“Bruce was right, you did become a great woman. And I'm proud to call you my friend.”

“Thanks Bartie... I'm glad you're my friend too.”

a week later, Bart had met with both Amy and Nathan to come clean about his double life. It had gone a lot better than he had anticipated, meaning no one passed out or ended up being pissed for being lied to for so long. The next time he talked to Bruce about the whole ordeal, he asked him what had gotten him to take an interest in Amy all those years ago.

“You did Bart.”

“I... what?”

“I mean, you and Damian. Haven't you realized it by now? Hecate Hope died in 2012, the very year you and Damian got stranded to. It's not a coincidence. Hecate was the one who brought you to that time, or rather, her ghost. She brought you there to save us all, and it was only natural that I would keep an eye on her sister for her as a thank you. I didn't want to interfere with her life too much, because I didn't want her to miss out on things that could make her happy, but I still did what I coul to make sure no harm would come to her. You don't realize it yet, but she's important, far more important then she even knows. “

“... how many more huge secrets from my future self are you keeping from me ?”

“Oh, not that many. After all, it's only a matter of time before you catch up to him. I'll tell you everything in due time. Oh and Bart?”

“Yeah?”

“You and Amy should practice sword fighting, just in case.”

and with that, Bruce was gone, leaving a perplexed Bart behind him, wondering if the Batman had finally lost it, before remembering what Wally had said to him a few years ago . 

_ 'You saved the world.for the second time. With a magic sword.' _

“Well damn, I guess I'm taking fencing lessons,” he declared before running around the manor screaming: “DAMI TEACH ME HOW TO SWORD FIGHT!”

he didn't know yet how Amy fit in thi whole ordeal, but one thing was for sure, whatever her role was, he would be sure to be there to help her shoulder the burden. That's what friends were for. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, plot plot plot. also Bruce, I love Bruce so much.  
> Next chapter: Caleb.


	20. Blue Elephant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Caleb became the Angel of the Family™

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii  
> So, this chapter is absolute pure fluff. like, I'm pretty sure y'all are gonna serve me dentist bills at the end of this. It's just.... ugh, really there's nothing more to say than fluff galore.  
> Now on a sadder note, as you can see, there will only be two more chapters of this fic.... but fear not, it's only the end of this volume! we're soon approaching the time when Bart and Damian time travelled in the other timeline, and I think that will be a very fgood way to end this tome. plus I need to finish the Roommate Chronicles at some point and I think finishing this one will giv eme some time to breathe and finish the other tome before starting the new one. anyway the future is still bright and I'm not done with this universe (or multiverse now lol)  
> Anyway hope you'll enjoy! xxx

Roy had known for years it was bound to happen. After all, this had been the exact reason why Bart and Damian had been sent back in time. But even knowing it was coming, nothing could have prepared him for the arrival of Caleb in his life.

When he'd seen him with his blonde curls and baby blue eyes, sitting close to Conner who had an arm thrown around him protectively, eating pancakes slowly and carefully, as if afraid they were going to disappear if he made a wrong move, he'd instantly been smitten by the kid. And when he heard Conner recount what the poor little angel had been through, he suddenly felt the urge to break something, preferably the bones of those responsible. It only took one look between him and Jason to decide that there was no way they weren't taking Caleb in. it was just evident he belonged with them at this point. He watched as his husband interacted with their new son for the first time, feeling a great sense of pride and determination. They were going to do right by this kid, there was no doubt in his mind about that.

That very night, after putting both of their kids to bed , Roy and Jason sat down on the couch and finally took a second to take everything in.

“ So,” Jason declared, “We have a son now. That's kinda crazy.”

“I guess, but I mean, I've known for years I was gonna adopt a magical child at some point.”

“Well I didn't know that, why would Bart and Dami tell you about it but not me?”

“Probably cause you were stil a child yourself at the time and that would have been weird. Also, imaging learning you were fated to raise a child with me at only thirteen years old, you would have completely freaked.”

“Oh, yeah, I didn't think about that. Can you imagine the huge gay panic that would have ensued? “

“I can and it would have been hilarious. “

“Glad to know my pain is a source of joy to you,” Jason huffed, pretending to be upset and pouting like a child, prompting Roy to peck his lips .

“I just think it would have been cute that's alll. You gotta admit your evolution is pretty spectacular babe.”

“Yeah, that's true. And here we are now. Married with two kids. I would never have thought myself capable of that.”

“Me neither. But now, I don't think anything could stand in the way of us giving the best life possible to our children. “

“Except maybe you know, the crazy wizard bastard that's out to get us and wants to use Caleb as a tool for world domination.”

Roy rolled his eyes.

“ Please, this weak ass bitch couldn't get rid of us twelve years ago, ain't no way he's gonna succeed now when we're at the top of our game. “

“heh, I don't know if we're at the top of our game, I mean, you're getting old.”

“Oh yeah? Well, guess who's going to really enjoy sleeping comfortably in the bed and resting his old bones while you take the couch tonight?”

“Aw don't be like that, you know I was only kidding!”

Roy didn't answer and crossed his arms, determined to stand his ground , which was becoming increasingly difficult as Jason was attacking him with kisses .

“I hate you,” he grumbled as Jason was kissing his neck.

“No you don't,” Jason answered with a smile as he placed himself into Roy's arms and snuggled up to him. Roy sighed and responded:

“you're right, I really don't.”

“See? Told you. Hey Roy?”

“yeah Jay?”

“I know I'm usually a pessimist, but I think you're right. I have a feeling we're gonna all be alright.”

“Yeah, I get that feeling too.”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

In only a few months, Caleb had made great progress . He could now talk, was able to communicate his needs, likes and dislike without being afraid of getting punished, and he could now go out for more than an hour without panicking as long as they didn't take him to crowded places.

He was also notorious for having absolutely everyone he met in the palm of his hand, which wasn't hard to see why. It was especially true for his Godmother and Godfather, Barbara and Conner of course, and even truer for the whole Batfamily who was completely smitten. Even Grandpa Bruce had never been seen being this soft towards anyone before. Jason was really enjoying teasing him about that, and it had somehow helped their own relationship.

And of course , Jason's brothers were all a huge part of Caleb's life since the very beginning, and Caleb admired them and loved spending time with them despite his timidity. But his favorite uncle was by far Damian (which wasn't really a surprise, he was also Lian's favorite after all).

The very next day of Caleb's arrival into the Harper-Todd household, Damian had showed up with the bigest plushie ever seen in mankind history, demanding to meet his new nephew.

That had taken both Jason and Roy by surprise, they'd never have guessed he'd be the first one to come. They were a bit hesitant to have Caleb meet anyone new so soon, not wanting to overwhelm him, but Damian's earnestness won them over and in he went. Roy went to fetch Caleb who was quietly playing with legos, and told him in a soft, quiet tone:

“Alright squirt, you remember how we told you that we had a very big family with lots of different people in it?”

Caleb looked at him with big confused eyes before nodding slowly.

“ Well, we've told our whole big family about you, and they're all very excited to have you be one of us. And right now, Damian, that's Jason's baby brother, just like you're Lian's baby brother remember?” another nod, faster and happier this time, “good, well Damian has just arrived and he really wants to meet you. Do you think you'd like to meet him? He's a very nice guy and a great uncle.”

Caleb thought about it for a few seconds, the most adorable pout on his face as he focused hard, before making grabby arms towards Roy which took it as a sign that he was agreeing but was also looking for emotional support in order to be able to take this new very scary step to him. Roy obliged and lifted him up into his arms before directing both of them to the living room where Damian was listening to Lian's last adventure intently as she went into every single detail under the fond gaze of Jason. When Lian saw her father and little brother enter the room, she stopped right on her tracks and her eyes lit up as she got up instantly, exclaiming:

“oh, there's Caleb! He's so cute uncle Dami you'll see! Hey Callie!” she said a bit less loudly, understanding that it could overwhelm him, and giving him a small wave to which he responded enthusiastically. It was apparent that, while he was still a bit on edge with everyone, Lian had won him over instantly and he was overjoyed with the idea of having a big sister.

“come on Little Brother, I'm gonna introduce you to uncle Dami!”

Caleb looked at Roy who was still holding him for reassurance and he smiled at him in response, which seemed to make him more at ease, and so Roy put him down, letting Lian take his small hand in hers and lead him towards their uncle.

“Caleb, this is Uncle Dami, he's the coolest Uncle ever! He always plays with me and listen to my stories, and he buys me a lot of ice cream even when our daddies say no! He's gonna be doing this for you too now, isn't that cool?”

Caleb didn't really know what to do, so he decided to just study the face of this “Uncle Dami” that was offered to him. Damian just looked back with a very stoic but relaxed face. He was not smiling like Roy, Jason or even Conner had been to hep him feel less afraid, but Caleb was a very perceptive child, in part due to his still underdevelopped empath tendencies, and he just could see in Damian's face that he was someone he could trust. So he timidly extended a hand towards him, and Damian, amused, took it and shook it slowly.

“Hello there Little Man. It's very nice to meet you. I got you a present.”

Caleb didn't really understand what the word present meant yet, and so he just stared blankly as Damian reached for something behind the couch and brought the gigantic plushie forward. It was in the form of a blue elephant and it looked very fluffy indeed. Caleb had never seen anything of the sort, and was absolutely mesmerized by it. He looked at it in awe, not daring to step closer to touch it, which Damian seemed to realize.

“You can touch it you know? It's yours after all.”

Caleb finally seemed to understand and just looked at Damian with apparent surprise, before pointing at himself with a questioning look.

“Yes, yours. This is what a present means you see, it means giving something to someone else to make them happy. So I really hope it makes you happy.”

it didn't really register to him why this stranger would want to make him happy, but he sure was grateful. He slowly put his hand on the head of the elephant, petting it carefully as if he believed it to be alive, before turning back to Damian with shining eyes and timidly surrounding him as best as he could with his tiny arms, hugging him very tightly. This took Damian by surprise, but he quickly recovered and hugged him back, very moved by the whole ordeal. He then carefullypicked him up and sat him down on his lap, before saying in a whisper, as if the rest of the conversation was a secret just between the two of them:

“Okay, so now that you have a new fluffy friend, we need to find a good name for him, what do you say? How about this, I'll give you suggestion and you let me know when there's one you like okay? Great, how about Billy? No? Yeah I guess it doesn't really suit him, well how about...”

the rest of the family watched as the two interacted, Lian absolutely fascinated by the whole exchange and both parents in total shock over how perfectly this meeting had gone. Damian sure was one of a kind, and to think he wasn't even sixteen yet.

In the months that followed, even as Caleb met and started to love so many more of his extended family, Damian still seemed to hold aspecial place in his heart. So much so that when he started talking, in the beginning, his two most constant sentences were “I wanna go pick up Big Sister” and “Can Uncle Dami come and play?”

And Damian loved his role as the favorite uncle, it seemed to be the role he was born to play, him who constantly had to be the baby of the family, he was overjoyed with having to take care of someone for a change. Both Lian and Caleb were at the top of his priority list.

One day, as he'd taken Caleb to the park while Lian was at her dance lesson, he suddenly heard Caleb small voice ask him a question, which was fairly unusual as he wasn't often the one to initiate conversations:

“Uncle Dami? What's a superhero?”

Damian was very surprised by the sudden interrogation.

“Why do you ask?”

“Big Sister said you and Daddy Jay and Daddy Roy and everyone where superheroes?”

“I see. Well a Superhero is someone who protects the innocents from bad people. People who want to hurt them. They make sure the innocent people stay safe and the bad ones get locked away somewhere whrre they can't hurt anybody anymore.”

Caleb seemed to try to compute all these new informations, before frowning and asking:

“Am I like the bad people?”

“Of course not, why would you think that?”

“Because I was locked away before Uncle Kon found me.so maybe it's because I was a bad boy and I didn't know.”

Damian inhaled deeply, trying not to listen to his murdering instincts which were telling him to hunt down and destroy every single one of the people who hurt his nephew, before crouching down in front of Caleb and taking his face in his hands and saying:

“I want you to listen to me very carefully, can you do that for me?” Caleb nodded. “Good. This is very important and I really need you to remember this: what happened to you is not your fault. You are not bad, and the people who locked you up were the bad guys. They hurt you because they're really bad. You're the innocent one here, and Kon came to rescue you because it was his job as a superhero to protect you from the bad people. Now repeat after me: I'm a good boy, and what the bad people did is not my fault.”

“I...I'm a g...good boy, and what the bad people did is not my fault.”

“really good. I also want you to know that it's okay to be sad about what happened sometimes. It's okay to be hurt. But you also need to know that it's over and they can never hurt you again, because you are safe and protected.”

“Because ypu're superheroes?”

“yes, and also because we love you very much.”

“Okay... that's good then... I like superheroes.”

Damian snorted.

“That's a relief, it would have been a bit awkward otherwise. Now come on, let's go get ice cream, you deserve it. You know why?”

“Because I'm a good boy?”

“exactly, and a smart one too it seems!”

Caleb giggled.

“Daddy Jay says I'm the smartest boy! He says I'm more smart than Uncle Timmy already!”

“Well, I might agree with Daddy Jay for once.”

they started walking towarss the ice cream parlor, and Caleb started talking again:

“is it dangerous to be a superhero?”

“It can be dangerous, that's why we train very hard and are very careful. Kind of like the policemen and firefighters.”

“Oh... so you can't get hurt?”

Damian hesitated. He knew Caleb needed to be reassured, but he also didn't habe it in him to completely ie to him. It was a rule he had for himself that he wouldn't lie to his niece and nephew. So he treaded carefully as he answered:

“when you run around the playground, sometimes you fall don't you?”

“Yeah...”

“And it can hurt sometimes too you agree?”

“yes, the other day a hurt my knee. I cried a little bit.”

“but you got up, and it got better in the end right? And you won't stop running just because you fell?”

“No, I like running. But I'm more careful now. Cause falling isn't fun.”

“that's good. Well it's kind of like that for us too. We do things that are a little dangerous, and sometimes we're not as careful as we should be, or we're very careful but we have a moment of bad luck. So we fall. But then we get up again. You see, in life, there's never anything that's completely danger free. But if we're always scared to fall, then we miss all the good things. So we must be careful, but we also must not forget to take some risks. Do you understand?”

“I think so... Lian says she wants to become a superhero too one day.”

“it doesn't surprise me. She's always loved adventure and taking care of people who need her help.”

“Do I have to become a superhero too?”

“Do you want to become a superhero?”

Caleb thought it over for a second.

“I don't know... I think I wanna take care of people who are hurt so they feel better, but I don't think I want to fight bad people...”

“so you'd like to heal people? Like a doctor?”

“oh... yeah! A doctor ! I like doctors! They make the people not sick anymore! I wanna do that!”

Damian looked at him fondly, it seemed Caleb was always finding new ways to make Damian feel even more enamored with him.

“I think you'll be a great doctor someday. And you know what? In my opinion, doctors are kind of like superheroes too.”

Caleb let out a toothy smile, very happy with the prospect of his future career.

And while Damian knew that there would be a lot of obstacles on the way for Caleb, no matter how much everyone would like to avoid it for him, he was had no doubt that he would succeed in having the life he wanted in the end, they would all make sure of it. This kid's light shined too bright to be allowed to be put out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol I came back after I posted cause I really really need to say things like omg I have thoughts  
> First of all Caleb is my absolute favorite child I've ever created and I want to give him the world but that's not even a surprise I think.  
> But also OH MY GOD DAMIAN.  
> Can yiu remember when that kid couldnt understand human emotions and was just an angry bean? Or when he was too awkward to hold a conversation? NOW LOOK AT HIM EXPLA9NING HOW THE WORLD WORKS TO LITTLE KIDS AND MAKING SURE THEY HAVE A HEALTHY MENTAL STATE I CANT DEAL IM SO PROUD OF HIM SOMEONE HOLD ME IM GONNA CRY  
> Also I cant find a good name for the Blue Elephant and that's pissing me off.  
> Ok I'm done  
> Next Chapter: trio of old men trying to grasp the concept of early Grandfatherhood.


	21. Of Dads And Grandpas (Bonus Chapter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay Dads make the Greatest Grandpas or so it seems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you have NO IDEA how much of a hard time this chapter gave me.  
> So. at first I had a very clear plan of action in my head. it would be a three part chapter with an arc that followed the three main dads of the fic, with them witnessing their children becoming fully functioning adults (barely) and/or transitioning from the dad to the grandad title. so, I started writing the first part, and honestly it took a while but once I finally knew what I wanted to say it went easily.  
> BUT THEN!  
> the second part came around, and I realized that I couldn't, in fact, write what I wante to write for this part because this would create a big plot inconsistency (see end note for more detail) so I just rage quit for a week or two and played the sims 4 lol.  
> and then I wame back to it finally and struggled but I think I found a good way tongo around my original problem. so I'm satisfied enough.  
> Oh and I also completely changed my idea for the third part, and I was excited to write it but then I got tired and stressed out cause I haven't posted in 93 years so I just said fuck it, let's keep the idea for now. one day I might write it as a part 2 of this Bonus chapter, with another idea I just had that would go with it perfectly lol.  
> anyway yeah that's basically the process I went through, not that you care.  
> By the way hi! hope you enjoy xxx

It was a fact he couldn't deny anymore: Bruce Wayne was starting to get old. Now, he was still in pretty formidable shape , and still in his prime as Batman, he'd even argue that he was better equipped for the role than he had ever been before. But the fact of the matter was that it wasn't in his Batman role that he noticed how old he was getting, but in his role as a grandfather.

He'd never really thought about ever becoming a grandfather before, that hadn't even been in the back of his mind. Then Bart had started calling him Grandpa, mostly to spite him, and he'd just let him because trying to argue with a speedster was more of a hassle than he could deal with and he'd rather avoid that sort of headache. It was nothing but a teasing nickname after all, even though he had to admit he felt a particular fondness for the young speedster.

Then there had been the slow but steady return of Jason in his life, his second sond finally ready to start things over. With him came his little family, and of course, his now daughter Lian, who didn't seem too phased by Bruce's very cold exterior. And since she had decided very early on that Damian was his favorite uncle, he would see a lot of the little girl at the manor. It didn't take long for him to be won over by her seemingly never ending amount of charm and energy. She had a fierceness to her that would probably make her a force to be reckoned with when she grew up, and she was perhaps the happiest child Bruce had ever witnessed growing up.

She was also a very good manipulator and even he couldn't escape her tea parties and other equally imaginative games. A fact that made Alfred overjoyed at the prospect of all the teasing he was able to make at his master's expense.

Then, a few years after Lian, it was time for Caleb to enter his life unexpectedly. Now , Caleb was a different story altogether. The circumstances of his adoption made Bruce feel compelled to keep a close eye on him from the very beginning. He of course hadn't forgotten about the Caretaker situation, and he was determined to make sure he would never be able to hurt any member of his family ever again. So he took his grandfather role towards both him and Lian even more seriously from the very moment he appeared. He'd make sure to make time for them at least once a week, he'd go to every single one of Lian's dance showcase (which Jason pretended to be irritated about since it would attract more attention than necessary, but seeing how Lian beamed with happiness everytime she saw him in attendance , he'd move past it), he'd answer every single one of Caleb's very pertinent and thought provoking questions to the best of his ability (and he could admit that they were sometimes limited, this kid had the soul of a philosopher) , and he would throw the biggest, most outrageous kid birthday parties ever known to mankind (seriously, it was ridiculous the amount of time, money and effort he'd put in those. It was on par with Alfred's obsession with weddings).

There was no doubt that he had transitioned from half decent father to doting grandfather rather smoothly. However, what he had failed to realize was how tiring taking care of a ten and a five years old at the same time would be, especially when all they seemed to wa,t to do was make him run around his very vast garden and pretend to be a vampire (he blamed Dick for this, he had made sure the legend of him being the modern Count Dracula persisted).

You'd think with everything he went through during missions and patrols, he would have enough stamina to deal with the little monsters, but as it turned out, he basically ended up exhausted after every single afternoon he spent looking after them. This was a fact that didn't escape his fellow Justice League members. This was on one of those days, and he was sitting in front of a computer screen in the control room of the watchtower, staring blankly ahead unable to focus on the words he was trying to read, when Clark entered the room at took one look at him before smirking at him and saying amusedly:

“You look positively dead.”

Bruce just looked at him with a death glare and answered:

“Funny. Hey I've got an idea, why don't you go do something productive with your time instead of bullying me?”

“you're always so dramatic, now I know where Damian gets it from! Having trouble with a case?”

“Nope.” Bruce answered popping the p.

“Then what's wrong?”

“why do you assume something is wrong?”

“Because you look like you've been trampled on by a group of rabid animals.”

“first of all how dare you call my grandchildren rabid animals, that's rich coming from an alien invader.”

“hey, that's racist! Also are you telling me that Lian and Caleb got you this exhausted?” Clark added completely shocked.

“You don't seem to understand the power these children possess. Being a Grandfather is harder work than cleaning out Gotham.”

Clark rolled his eyes.

“ you say that as if you didn't love every second of it you sapp. Admit it, you're completely smitten by those kids. I can't blame you, they're absolutely adorable.”

“I'll admit that I'm finding this role far more enjoyable than anticipated.”

“and you're good at it. I'll be lucky if I'm even half as good as you when my time comes. Hopefully not too soon.”

“Please, as if you'll ever be anything short of the perfect grandfather. You're seriously infuriating.”

“Need I remind you how much of a failure I was as a father in the beginning? I'm sure Conner will confrim.”

“You got there in the end. And at least none of your sons ended up dead . “

“Are we really fighting to know who's the worst dad?”

“Apparently everything between us turns into a competition . On a more serious note, I think all that matters is that we ended up doing a half decent job, and being a grandfather is far less responsabilities so I wouldn't worry too much if were you . Besides, I pretty sure you've got time to prepare, I don't see either of your sons and mine having kids in the forseable future.”

“You never know with them, they get to crazy antics. I still can't believe both of my sons fell for Robins.”

“And Conner did twice, must be some kind of virus.”

“I don't know what it is with them, they have a devastating effect on my boys. But that means no matter what, we're going to have grandchildren in common. So I guess we'll get to see which one of us is the ultimate Grandpa.”

“I'm determined to win, so be prepared to be humiliated Kent.”

Clark smiled fondly.

“I don't know what I would do without this friendly rivalry , my life would be considerably more dull.”

Bruce couldn't help but agree, which was a good thing since it seemed he was doomed to have his life inextricably linked to Clark Kent for a very long time, possibly forever.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Barry Allen's life had no shortage of weird things going on in it, but nothing had been more weird than to get a grandson out of nowhere even before becoming a father.

Bart had arrived in his life like a tornado, and he hadn't known what to make of it at the time, but he didn't really have time to process it as everything had happpened too fast, even for him. At at the time, he thought the kid was just here in passing and would soon go back to where he'd come from, so surface level banter and happy chatter seemed to be enough for now. He'd learn to know the kid later, wouldn't he?

But then, his time machine had suspiciously refused to work, and here he was with a pregnant wife and a thirteen year old grandson to worry about. To say things were awkward would be an understatement. He tried to keep his happy; friendly attitude towards Bart, but it sounded forced. The thing was, he could tell the kid was hiding something from him, from all of them, and he could also tell that under his own facade of happiness, something darker was lurking. But he didn't want to ask, he was scared to ask. He got a partial answer anyway when they learned of the Reach invasion and Bart's role in preventing it, this being the very reason he had gone back in time. And this got to Barry's head, knowing they'd failed the world so much, that he'd failed his children and grandchildren to such a degree that his grandson had found no other way than to leave his own time behind to try and save the world, to save them. And Barry didn't deal well with failure. So he started avoiding the kid, and sure, he felt very guilty about it, but he couldn't even face him anymore without seeing all he'd done wrong in his life, all he'd do wrong.

Wally tried talking to him, tried to make him see reason.

“Bart only wants a chance to get to know you, Uncle B;” he'd said, “and I think you would gain a lot in knowing him too. He's truly exceptional. He's already suffered so much in his life, please just try and give him at least a fraction of your time, you won't be disappointed I promise.”

And Barry knew he was right, but the guilt was still eating him inside. What could he possibly do to even attempt to make up to Bart for all he'd endured because of his ineptitude?

Surprisingly, the person who got him out of this state of mind was not Wally, it was Clark. They'd just finished a big mission where they had had to work with the Young Justice, and Superman had of course noticed the distance between Barry and his grandson., so he decided to ask him about it:

“Hey Flash, a word?”

“Yeah sure Sup', what's up?”

“I couldn't help but notice some tension between you and Bart. Is something wrong?”

“Oh... well, it's complicated.”

“try me.”

“Fine. I gues you could say things are awkkward between us. You know, with him coming from the future and everything. I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around it.”

“I see. What bothers you specifically? “

“It's just... the whole idea of him I guess. I don't mean that there's anything wrong with him of course, poor kid hasn't asked for his life to end up this way, but that's the thing. He's obviously lived a very terrible life, I might not have all the details but I can put two and two together. And... I had promised myself that no matter what happened , I would make sure my family would stay safe and sound. I would make sure to be there for them. And I would make damn sure they wouldn't become orphans. Well, seems like I failed on all accounts, and that's just... I feel awful about it, and every time I see him I can't think of anything else.”

Clark stared at him silently for a while, a thoughtful look in his eyes. Finally, he broke the silence:

“I know exactly how that feels. To see the embodiment of your own failures when looking at a poor innocent Kid who didn't even ask to be born. To feel like you need to stay as far away from them as possible. To feel the guilt crush you more and more each day. But you know what I learned? Children are like blank canvas. If we project fear and hatred onto them, that's what they'll become. I made so many mistakes with Conner, it's a mirace he turned out so well despite me. I can never atone enough for what I put him through just because I couldn't deal with my own failures and shortcomings. But I'm trying, because he deserves a father figure in his life, he deserves a family. And that's all that matter in the end. Bart is the same. You feel guilty for not being there for him when he was growing up? Well, you have a change to make up for it right now, to right the wrongs of the past, future, whatever you wanna call it. Don't let it go to waste, because at the end of the fay, you'll only regret it even more. “

Barry let everything Clark said sink in, before asking weakly:

“What if it's too late?”

“It's never too late to do the right thing Barry, never. Besides, Bart has a very forgiving nature from what I've heard. And you're his hero, he wouldn't pass up an opportunity to get close to you. “

Barry sighed. Clark was right, it was time for him to face his fears instead of running away from them.

The next day, he mustered up the courage to show up in front of Bart's room in the Watchtower with a bunch of bags full of food that he'd learned from Wally were all of Bart's favorite, and sheepishly smiled as he opened the door, a look of shock , surprise and weariness but also hope in his eyes.

“Oh hi Grandp... I mean Barry, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

“No, not at all. I just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out with me. I think we're overdue for some bonding time. I brought snacks.”

“you... you want spend time with me? Seriously?”

“Yeah, seriously. Listen, I'm really sorry, I know I haven't been the best Grandpa the past two years, and I'd really like to change that , but I'll understand if you don't want to forgive me or see me because let's face it, I've been the biggest j...”

he couldn't finish his sentence because Bart had suddenly rushed forward to hug him has tightly as he could, so fast that Barry let the bags fall on the floor, dumbfounded for a second before tentatively hugging back.

“I've been waiting for this moment for so long,” Bart said in a soft, painful voice, “Wally said it would happen eventually, but I was starting to lose hope... I'm so happy right now...”

and honestly, Barry really wanted to punch himself in the face at this moment as he could hear Bart was trying to hold back tears as he spoke.”

“Well, I've been known to have an habit of being very late. Sorry I took so long.”

“it's okay, as long as you're here right now. I um.... I was gonna have a Back to the future marathon in x3 speed, do you wanna watch them with me maybe? I know it's kind of cheesy but Wally said I'd probably like them a lot so...”

“I think that's a great idea, I love those movies! Just, be prepared for a lot of bad jokes on my parts, I litterally never shut up when I watch a movie, your Grandma doesn't even want to go to the cinema with me anymore, says I'm too embarassing.”

“I'm sure I can live with that,” Bart responded with a radious smile.

That was the first of many precious moments Barry was able to spend with his grandson, and one thing was certain, he made the best decision of his life when he decided to give this a shot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .... Ok so. Barry. Barry Barry Barry. you had me fucked up man. I initially wanted to write about his very poor treatment of Bart after Wally's death, a thing I've been hinting at since the very first appearance of Bart in my textfic. and then I realized...oh. I can't do that cause Paradox is an alternate timeline in which Wally did not, in fact, die. YOU HAD ONE JOB WALLACE (just kidding I love him please YJ bring him back kk bye) . so yeah I had to think of something else but that would show the same kind of mind state , minus the grieving for his nephew/ kind of son part. I think I did an okay job?  
> right okay that's enough of that. HOW CUTE ARE BRUCIE AND CLARKIE THO? like, I never wrote any Superbat before, but I had so much fun trying to decipher their friendship, gah they make me soft. also, Tim, Conner, give Clarkie some Grandchildren ffs (Jon and Dami are too young still but Clarkie deserves to be grandpa).  
> Okay that' it for now.  
> oh I almost forgot. I was thinking of adding a story that wouldnt actually be a story, just a collections of infos and headcanons I have about all the different characters, and maybe you could ask questions in the comments and I would answer it in the next chapter? idk, I just felel guilty when I don't upload for a while and that would just be something easy to do for me as I take time to work on the real fics. (especially since Paradox is almost over, the next story will need a lot of groundwork and I don't even have a clue what to write next for Red and Blue anymore lol) so yeah, lemme know if you would be interested.  
> that's it for now!  
> Next Chapter: How to crossover with oneself


	22. Bad Timing and Strange Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaime is struggling, nd the universe seems to also be against him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI!  
> so, this is the last chapter.  
> Honestly, while I really like it, I'ma bit disappointed at the same time because it doesn't feel like a last chapter. I mean, it does go full circle, we started this story with Jaime and we're also ending it with him, but it's just... yeah, you'll see.  
> it doesn't really matter of course because there's this whole other story that comes after, but I really like when every book has a clear ending even if it foreshadows a future story.  
> anyway I'm rambling again, here ya go, enjoy! xxx

“So, I chickened out again,” Jaime casually said while sitting down next to Tim on the couch.

“Are you for real? “ Tim sighed, already tired from this conversation, “Jaime, it's been months now, you really gotta get over your fear at some point.”

“I know that, it's just... ugh, everytime I think this is the perfect moment something either goes horribly wrong, or I just get into one of those moods where anxiety takes over and all of a sudden I'm very insecure and.... yeah.”

“You want this, don't you?”

“More than anything yeah.”

“And Bart does too. So you see? No reason to panic at all. “

“You don't know if Bart actually wants it.”

Tim looked at him with the most deadpan face he'd ever seen.

“You're telling me that the guy who's been introducing himself as your future husband since he was fifteen and you started dating does not want to marry you?”

“...well when you say it like that... but you never know really...”

“I can't with you, you're litterally using up all of my energy and will to live with your dumbassery.”

“Love you too sweetheart.”

“Save those for your future fiancé. And also, actually do make sure he becomes your fiancé, preferably before the next blue moon. I need Bluepulse to live and you're depriving me of my source of sustainance, that's cruel.”

“Fine you drama queen! I'll do it tomorrow night, happy?”

“Very. Everything will work out fine you'll see, I'l make sure everything goes smoothly for you.”

“thanks Timmy, I don't know what I would do without you.”

“Die of sadness and loneliness probably. Now go do something with your life, I still have four episodes of Goblin to watch.”

“Are you serious? Kdramas? Bart has corrupted you.”

“Look who's talking! Now shoo!”

the very next day, as promised, Tim had done everything in his power so the whole day would go without a hitch and to ensure Bart would be in the best mood. And as as the evening came and they were laying on the grass in front od a lake they both particularly liked, watching the stars, Jaime thought it couldn't be more perfect.

“Bartie?” he said in a very small voice, almost a whisper.

Bart was still staring at the stars but smiled as he answered:

“yes?”

“You ever think about how far we've come? “

“Yeah,very often, why?”

“It's just... when I think about how my life was before you arrived, this version of you I mean. I was such a mess, I could barely hold myself together. With the whle Jason's death thing and me having to get into this superhero business when that was the last thing I wanted at the time, and I just... I couldn't even alow myself to try and get myself in order because I was so terrified of what I would find you know? I just took everything that was thrown at me and rolled with it even when I had a right to say 'hey, what the fuck', because I couldn't allow myself to stop. I just knew I wouldn't be able to go on if I stopped even for a minute. But then you arrived and everything kinda shifted for me. “

“How so?”

“Well for one, you were far too fast for me to even try to keep up. So I couldn't do what I was used to doing and just try to catch up. It's like... you litterally crashed into my life and paralyzed me. It's kind of ironic but you're the one who forced me to slow down and actually live my life instead of surviving through it. Does that make sense?”

“It makes a lot of sense actually. Trying to outrun your problems, I can relate to that. And you had a similar effect on me, I mean now I can actually enjoy moments like this where we just sit around and do nothing and feel comfortable instead of trying to feel the void. “

“Yeah, I think we had to learn how to take things one moment at a time together. That's why we work so well, we learn and grow together everyday. “

Bart sat up and looked at Jaime with sparkling eyes and a fond smile.

“You're awfully sappy tonight. Not that I don't love it, you know I'm a sucker for sappiness. But I wonder if there's any particular reason.”

“Well, actually um... there is...”

“Oh. Well, I'm all ears. “

“Ok so, Bart, we've known each other for nine years now...”

“Technically you've known me for twelve.”

“let's not get into technicalities tonight please.”

“My bad, please continue.”

“Thank you. So We've known each other for nine years and we've been dating for seven of those years, seven years can you believe it? We were such babies back then, we barely knew what dating meant, but we managed anyway. Those years have been the very best of my relatively short existence, and you're in great parts responsible for that. You've made every great moments even better and every bad one less terrible, just by being here, being with me and loving me. You've given me so much love, I can't even begin to describe how overwhelmingly amazing that feels. And my goal has always been and probably always will be to make you feel as much love and adoration as I possibly can.”

“It's working, if you were wondering,” Bart pointed out while squeezing Jaime's hand.

“That's good to know. Anyway so I've been thining about this for a while now, and I've been trying to do this for months but I just keep failing for some reason, but now I think it's finally the right moment. I'll just come right out and say it, Bart, will you...”

and just like that, in the middle of his sentence, just as Jaime thought he'd finally managed to break the curse, Bart's phone rang, the familiar tone of “YES or YES” by TWICE piercing through the night. It was pretty comical, and Jaime didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

“Oh crap! I'm so sorry, I didn't even realize I didn't put it on silent! I mean, I'll do it right now! Who even calls at this hour I... oh. It's Amy.”

Jaime, having already bid farewell to his perfect proposal, instantly knew this had to be important.

“Answer it, she wouldn't call you at that time without a reason.”

“You sure? “

“Yeah, don't worry, let's see what's going on. “

Bart did as told, and put the phone on speaker so Jaime could hear it too.

“Hey Ames, what's up? Everything alright?”

“Hi Bartie, um... well everything's mostly fine I guess but... I'm having a small situation...”

“What kind of situation?”

“Welll, you know how I've been trying out different spells and enchanments to help us win against the caretaker? Yeah, I might have made a small miscalculation... it's better if you'd come see it for yourself.”

“o...Kay? Should I just come alone?”

“oh no, you can bring people, it would probably be better actually. Oh and, bring Damian if you can, okay see you in a bit!”

and just like that, she hung up.

“What has she gotten herself into this time?” Bart wondered out loud, looking obviously concerned.

“Let's go and find out. I'll go tell Tim and Kon, then I'll call Jason. If it's got to do with the Caretaker he and Roy will want to be there. I'll let you go and talk to Damian ?”

“Yeah, and I'll probably ring Walls up too, if Wally and Dickie learn we've invited everyone but them they're gonna throw a fit. Let's all meet in front of Ames' flat in 30 minutes.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Bart pecked Jaime on the lips before saying.

“We'll continue this conversatin later though.”

“Oh yeah, definetly,” Jaime said as Bart smiled then bolted.

So much for going without a hitch.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

half an hour later, the little group composed of Bart, Jaime, Tim, Conner, Wally,Dick, Jason, Roy, Damian and Jon who'd been at the manor when Bart had arrived, was in front of Amy's door. As she came to open it and saw ten people , she jumped a bit in surprise, before sighing.

“Oh wow, that's a lot of people.... I don't know if we're all gonna fit, might have to use an enlargement spell to...”

“You've done enough spells for today!” a voice Bart identified as Nathan's shouted from inside.

“I can totally pull off an enlargement spell Calver, don't give me that crap right now! Anyway, come on in, make yourself at home. Oh wait! Before you get in, let me just...”

she mumbled something under her breath and moved her hand, and a box appeared with pins inside.

“Can you all choose a pin and put it on your shirts please? It will make things easier.”

they all looked at her curiously, but didn't see the harm in doing it so they all did. Before entering and going straight for the living room where Nathan was waiting for them on the door pan, and just said in a dramatic tone:

“Brace yourselves, this is gonna be weird.”

he then clapped Bart on the shoulder before stepping away, and letting them see into the living room where they finally understood what was going on: here in front of them stood ten other people, or more exactly, themselves. Same faces, same ages, no wonder Amy had given them pins. They all stood facing each other in this very cranked up living room, kind of gobsmacked, not knowing what to say or do, until both Roys pointed at each other's chest at the same time and said:

“Nice shirt!”

In fact, while every peair of doubles were wearing different clothes, both Roys were doning a Redhood tshirt, which in turn made both Jasons facepalm and say:

“Dear lord, there's two of them.”

They looked at each other in horror as soon as the words came out of their mouths.

“Okay, this is some freaky shit,” Other Tim said, “like, Orphan Black level of creepy.”

“You don't say,” this world's Tim answered.

“Yeah so, basically I kinda goofed up?” Amy intervened.

“How in the hell did you manage to even do something like that?” this world's Conner asked, still in awe of the whole situation.

“Well, I was thinking, the Caretaker obviously has no qualms in bending time and space and dimensions to his will if it means he'll win, so I thought I should try and harness that power too, cause I need to be prepared for whatever he's gonna throw at us. And I found this really good book the other day while looking through my family heirlooms, and I've been learning as much as I could from it, so I was trying out a few spells you know, and I found this one that was supposed to 'help you get a new perspective.', and I thought, what's the harm right? Well, obviouly there's the harm...”

she looked so much like a kicked puppy that even if they had wanted to get mad at her, they probably couldn't have. Other Bart was the first one to approach her and put a hand on her shoulder before saying:

“it's not your wault Amy, you couldn't know this would happen. Besides, if I've learned anything from my last improvised trip , it's that magic always has a purpose, and accident are often anything but that. “

“Wait a second... last trip?” Dick picked up, “Are you saying you're the same Bart that travelled to the past twelve years ago?”

“Well, technically it happened last month for me, but yeah, we're the same Bart and Damian. Nice to see you again everyone!”

“nice, nice, we can't even catch a break for more than a month and he says it's nice!” Other Damian exploded.

“Dude, chill out will you? “ this world's Damian said while looking at his nails as if completely unbothered by this situation.

Other Damian just looked at his double in disbelief, before sitting down on the couch with his arms crossed, muttering something resembling 'insufferable brat' behind his breath as his Jon sat down next to him and rubbed circles on his back soothingly.

“Okay, so let me get this straight,” this world Bart finally said, “you're the us from the future we've heard so much about for years?” he said as he pointed at himself and Damian.

Other him shrugged and said:

“I guess? “

“Oh my God! Dude! Do you know how long I've waited for this momenbt? Come here, I need to hug you right now!”

and with that said, he rushed over his double and wrapped him ina tight hug.

“O...kay? I guess this is a way to love myself? What's that for buddy?”

“you're litterally the reason my life is great, what the fuck! Thank you so much for being so crash honestly!”

“Oh wow... you're welcome I guess.”

“Bart loving himself, a concept,” this world's Wally said fondly.

“And Damian instantly not standing himself, that's so iconic,” other Dick snickered.

“Okay, not to cut this very wholesome meeting/reunion short, but this place is honestly so crowded, we really should take this elsewhere.” this world's Roy judiciously said, and Jason added:

“Yeah, let's just all go to the manor , there'll be plenty of room. Plus, I'd love to see the heart attack this will cause Brucie . “

“then it's decided! We're taking this crisis meeting to the manor! Come on everyone, en route!” this world's Dick said enthusiastically, “You two as well,” he added while looking at Amy and Nathan who'd been making themselves as small as possible in the back of the room, whispering to each other.”

“Wait, me too?” Nathan said surprised, “I'm goind to see Wayne Manor? For real? Oh my God I can't believe it! I'm gonna pass out oh my God!”

Amy rolled her eyes, completely done with her best friend, while both Tims ust snorted and said:

“Cute.”

This did nothing to cam Nathan down as he just looked from one Tim to the other frantically with his mouth hanging open, while they both looked smug, pretty proud of what they'd just done.

“Tim, stop breaking my friend! “ Bart scolded them, “let's just go before Nate just spontaneously combusts or something”.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

in the middle of the circus that this whole had become, as everyone was talking , Jaime was just sitting in a corner, trying not to pout too much , still sore about his failed proposal. And of course, the first one to notice something was wrong with him was... his other self.

“You look kinda down Hermano, something happened?” he said while sitting down next to him.

“I just wish this whole mess would have happened any other day, that's all.”

“Oh, did you have anything planned tonight?”

“Kinda, I... this is so strange taliing to you about this.”

“Shouldn't be, I'm you, or well, more or less. Come on tell me.”

“It's just... I was litterally in the middle of proposing to Bart.”

“....ah. Awfully bad timing then, I get it. Sorry ese.”

“s'alright, it's just... I don't know when I'll ever get the courage again now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean... wait, so you didn't go through this yourself? The whole anxiety of proposing?”

“No? I mean, of course I was a bit nervous when the idea first came to my mind but honestly, once it happened it just went smoothly.”

“Once it... you've already done it?!”

“Yeah? A month ago today actually, that's funny. “

“I... how?”

“ oh, that's actually a cute story. You see, I was planning on doing it during a roadtrip we had planned with Tim and Kon, but the day before we were supposed to go, he just up and dissapeared with Damian for a week. “

“oh... wait that's when he came to the past right?”

“Yup. I was losing my mind over my boyfriend being nowhere to be found while he was just living his best life and spoiling you rotten. I'm very jealous of you by the way.”

“As you should be.”

“Glad we're on the same page. Anyway so then he came back and that was a relief and we were all very happy. And then it got me thinking. I was really hell bent on doing the perfect proposal because to me Bart only deserves the best. But then I just realized, with everything we've been through together, and how much we love each other, and how many times we've told each other that we were a lifetime deal, really, proposing was more of a formality than anything. I knew Bart would say yes, and I knew he'd love it whether I pulled all the stops and brought out the fireworks or if I just ssaid, “hey, let's get married”. So I went to a happy middle ground, since I'm still a romantic sap at heart, and I just asked him while we were laying in bed one evening. I mean, well, actually, there was this whole conversation and gift leading up to it, but that was just what was left of my preparations for the roadtrip proposal, other than that It really was a spur of the moment kind of thing. Then he freaked out , cried a bit, and he said yes. I don't think it could have gone any better if I tried. It felt right to say it so I did. Simple as that.”

“... Why are you so much more chill than I am. I mean, we're supposed to be the same person.”

“But we didn't live the same lives. Not exactly. If I understand correctly, we started as the exact same person, and then when this whole thing happened twelve years ago, our lives shifted. It's okay though, you'll get there in the end, I'm sure of it. “

“I just... I don't get why I'm still so insecure after all those years. I mean, Bart and I have been dating for seven years...3

“Seven years? Dios Mio, how did you even pull that off?! Now I'm the one who's impressed?”

“it's... not been that long for you?”

“Nah, it's been a little bit more than three years for us.”

“Huh. But you still ended up engaged before us so there's that.”

“heh, everyone has their own way of doing things. Don't beat yourself up. It will happen when it needs to happen.”

Jaime was about to respond to his counterpart when Other world Bart appeared and kissed his Jaime before sitting down and taking his hand in his.

“Hey babies, what are you talking about?”

“You,” they both answered in unison.”

“Oh, your favorite subject I see, I should have known,”

Jaime snorted while his counterpart rolled his eyes fondly at his fiancé. This world's Jaime then noticed the ring on Bart's finger, a ring he knew very well.

“it's a nice ring you got there Bartie.”

Bart beamed at him .

“it is isn't it? I really like it. I like my TARDIS even more but I can't very well take it everywhere with me.”

“TARDIS?”

“yeah, it's a long story,” other Jaime shrugged off.

“it's nice to see you again baby Jaime. Even though I'm sad you grew up.”

“I'm not. And don't call me baby it's embarassing.”

“oh, but you were so cute, following me everywhere like a lost puppy and looking at me like I was the second coming of Jesus! It did wonders to my ego I can assure you.”

“Hey, stop picking on him,” the other him came to his rescue “you know damn well you'd have been just as smitten in his place.”

“hm, that's true. But I'm not picking on him, I legit thought he was the cutest thing on planet Earth.”

“Funny,” Jaime intervened, “That's what I thought when I saw my Bart for the first time. It's still true by the way.”

“Is it weird that I think you two are my new OTP?”

“heh, not really, we are goals after all.”

“Couldn't agree more.”

and as the conversation continued, Jaime felt a lot lighter and happier. He now knew not to worry. He didn't know if fate existed, but Bart and himself, they were inevitable. He'd end up putting a ring oh it one way or another, probably sooner rather than later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AOEBBDJDKSS ITS OVER ITS OVER I CANT  
> I honestly started writing this so easily, chapters just came to me naturally, and then the last three or four chapters were a struggle but I GOT THERE IN THE END!  
> Okay let's talk though. Jaime is honestly such a mood, like omg he freaks out over the smallest things, that's me in a nutshell.  
> also you have NO IDEA how excited I am for all those dopplegangers! I have so many ideas of how similar and different at the same time every pair is. like, it's a spectrum, on one hand, you have Bart who's basically the qame person, well maybe OG timeline Bart is a tad bit more experienced cause he's been through more shit lol, but other than that yeah same person, double the fun.  
> and THEN! on the other hand of the spectrum, you have Damian. Oh my God the Damians. they're... a sight to be seen. like you have og Damian, mature, composed, grumpy, lovable but deadly. and then you have slightly less socially inept, Twitter king, scrapbooking enthusiast, "I accidentally asked my best friend's father for my best friend's hand in marriage instead of asking him out" Damian. like, yes they're both Demon Child ™ and they have a lot in common, but they're differences omg they're gonna clash so much, this is the Robin face off I didn't know I needed.  
> Also I can't WAIT until OG Dickie leaarns other him dated Conner for five years ksksksksksks I'm wheezing! and poor Conner he's gonna have a mental breakdown over it.  
> And Wally being dead/not dead. yeah this one has been waiting to happen like, imagine Paradox Wally talking about how much his life sucked cause and OG Walls being like "yeah but did you die though? didn't think so".  
> something the Jasons can't do lol they both died both their lives have sucked. but they're both happy now! it's all good!  
> I should stop.  
> anyway I hope you'll be as hyped as I am for what's coming next (Idk when, I'mma try and finish Red and Blue first lol gods be good) .  
> I guess it's goodbye for now, but not for too long I promise!  
> kk love you byyyyye! <3 <3


End file.
